My Teaching Vows

I take you, Teaching, to be my fulfilling and engaging career –

Through kindergarten germs and spring break recoveries,

During summer break and in report card season,

From this day forward, until retirement or a new opportunity pulls me away.

 

I promise to put my heart into you each day,

To let go of yesterday’s struggles and embrace the new day with enthusiasm.

I will treat each student with respect and give everything I can to them,

Each classroom I enter will be an opportunity, not a requirement.

 

If I am not practicing gratitude and find myself complaining too much,

I will make a change in how I approach you, Teaching.

If the day comes when I can no longer give of myself the way I need to,

I will make the choice to move on and find another calling.

 

I will demonstrate what it means to be a reader, a writer, a learner –

I will choose to spend my time connecting and redirecting, not punishing or yelling.

Each day I will practice self compassion and forgive myself for imperfections,

For I will find the beauty in this messy process.

 

Because I take you, Teaching, to be my fulfilling and engaging career –

Through first week exhaustion and end of the year celebrations,

In light bulb moments and in the darkest corners,

From this day forward, until retirement or a new opportunity pulls me away.