Defining success as a teacher

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Today, as of 18th of January, is my birthday. Aside from my wife and kids who wished me a happy birthday, it was a really quiet day. A lot of my friends forgot that it was my birthday and my parents too. No, I am not venting my frustration, I'm not here to talk about how depressing it is to be me, although I did receive a present in the form of an invitation to join the dark side (which I'm seriously considering, @lordvader).

However, something surprised me today, I have not seen my students for over a year. I have started my postgraduate studies and have been put on an awesome three year study leave. As great as it sounds, studying ain't fun. I miss the classroom. I miss my students. Well, that feeling changed in the very early hours of the morning when I was greeted with many texts. I do not why some people saw the need to text me at 12 am. The first text of happy birthday came not from my parents nor my bros. It came from my students.

Success

I think as teachers. we have very different definitions of success. For some, success is defined with money. For some, the higher one's expertise or position, the higher the pay. There are some who define success via the students' success. Some teachers are doing an amazing job in helping students who do not perform academically, perform better. Then, there is the interpersonal aspect of success. The one where success is defined by how respected you are by the students.

Birthday Gifts from My Students

For me, I think that this is one of the perks of being a teacher. It is one of the reasons behind why I remain as a teacher and it is the reason why it makes a normally very stressful job bearable. I used to define success by how well my students perform. I would often drive them, motivate them and encourage them to perform to their best of their abilities. However, I do get especially hard on myself if they don't do well in their exams. A small part of me would begin to doubt. Perhaps, it is my strategies or maybe the way I have delivered my content.

Through all that doubt and storms of my heart, there are some students who would drop by the office, as if somehow hearing the voices in my head and thank me for helping them. Often, I do not get the whole class doing some grand gesture thanking me. No, this is unfortunately, not some movie about teachers. However, a simple text, note, selfie or birthday wish is sufficient. It reminds me that what I have done has meaning and that I am touching lives. That thought alone reminds me, that what I am doing has meaning and is worth it.

Significance

The thing about attributing success to money as a teacher is rather unrealistic. Most of us are not paid very well and that is not really within our control. For my case, my pay is linked to my seniority in the service. As such, the longer I serve, the better my pay. As such, the next thing to assess my success as a teacher is my students' performance.

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While that is how most administrators assess a teacher's success, it is often unrealistic. All students are unique. Some are talented academically and some are not. That does not make any of them less special nor, for a lack of a better word, any less 'smart'. As such, to blame it all on the teacher when the class fails may be rather unfair. Thus, attributing a teacher's success to the students' show of gratitude is often enough. I am also happy to be remembered by them even after I have stopped teaching them. That is because I value something that transcends success, which is significance. I am thankful that because of what I did (intentionally or unintentionally), I have touched lives and that small act holds some form of significance in their lives.

Thus, even after I have stopped teaching them, I will remain forever, their teacher.

Conclusion

I write this not because I want everyone to know how great of a teacher I am, I think there's much room for improvement. However, I have struggled for a while wondering if I am doing a good job as a teacher. I do not have a super expensive car to drive to work, nor do all my students do well. However, looking back after seven years of teaching, I think the thank you notes, the mugs and the occasional texts by students is enough to tell me that I am doing something right.

Maybe as a teacher, you find that you are going through something similar. You may feel that by many standards you are not as 'successful'. However, remember that lives have been touched by you and many owe their success to what you have done throughout your career as a teacher.

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