From A Student by Melia

From A Student by Melia - January 2015 Scholarship Essay

Teenage years are hard. High school is where we’re supposed to lay the foundation of our lives. We’re expected to get good grades, be social, help at home, have a job, and a million other things. So many things crash down on us, wave after wave, and it never seems to stop. For teens, that’s scary because, well, we don’t even really know who we are yet. It’s not that teenage years are horrible, dark years, but at times it can feel as if we’re drowning. Teachers are surrounded by teenagers and their personal hurricanes every day. Every teacher has an opportunity to be a light house amongst these storms, and that’s an incredible thing. I believe the best thing teachers can do for students is to inspire them. During this time of stress, growth and unsureness, teenagers feel weighed down; it could be life changing to have someone lift us up and light the way. So, teachers, what can you do to help us? The answer is simple: Be a beacon of light. Inspire us.

When I say “inspire us”, I don’t mean inspire students about the subject you teach, to get good grades, or to go to college. While those things are well and good, teens have heard them since we were ten. When I say “inspire us”, I mean: inspire me to be a better person. Inspire me to work hard every day, not because it’s expected of me, but because I know what I’m capable of. Inspire me to never settle, and to never let myself down, no matter how ferociously the storm rages.

That’s a tall order, I know. My demand seems especially daunting to the baby-faced doe-eyed new teachers, but inspiration takes many forms. To inspire doesn’t mean plastering brightly colored posters to the wall. Inspiration does not come from google quotes or pep talks. Teachers, you can inspire students by showing us who we’re capable of being, by your example. When the choir teacher openly admits he’s unsure about a piece we’re learning, but won’t quit and learns along with his choir, we’re inspired to push on through all obstacles. The English teacher that works a weekend job, still does pageants, and travels an hour to work every day induces a drive for excellence.

Now, high school is where we form opinions, habits, and ultimately, our personalities. Every teen’s situation is different. Some only feel safe at school, some don’t feel safe at all at school, and some seem to have perfect, easy lives. However, each of us go through tremendous changes during high school. The high school experience isn’t just about academics. It’s also about the social/emotional aspect of it. Therefore, while we need inspiration as students to work hard and never give up, we also need to be inspired as people. I’m not suggesting you tell your students your deepest secrets or become best friends with them. I simply mean that we want you to have a personality. We figured out that teachers don’t actually live at school in third grade, so it’s not a secret you have an identity beyond “teacher”.

So, inspire us to see beauty in unexpected places, and find friendships in unlikely people. Inspire us to value family above all else. Inspire us to relax every once in a while. The choir teacher cries as he conducts his last piece before retiring, and soon the choir is choking back sobs. The beauty hidden behind that pain is pure, heartbreaking beauty, though it’s found in an unusual place. The biology teacher that tries –tries, mind you— to make cookies on a Bunsen burner inspires us to take a break from the everlasting stress. As the history teacher and the English teacher terrorize the junior locker bay with off-pitch singing, we’re exposed to an unexpected friendship, and are inspired to find one ourselves. The Chemistry teacher that could (and sometimes does) talk about fishing for a full class period shows us that there’s more to life than assignments and tests. We watch the algebra teacher leave school during fourth hour every few weeks to watch her son’s elementary school basketball game, and we’re inspired to appreciate our family.

As you can see, teachers can inspire us to do and think many things. Every teacher will inspire every student differently. It’s not a matter of tenure or subject taught. It’s a matter of what you teach us when the textbook is closed. Inspiring your students isn’t about being the best, brightest, most bubbly teacher. It’s about what you teach us when you don’t think you’re teaching: how you carry yourself, how you react to situations, how you talk about your stress-relieving-hand lotion, or how you quietly smile and add five minutes onto a student’s hall pass. With everything going on in a student’s life, things can seem endless and pointless and ridiculous. Even the smallest action can teach us that everything will be okay, and inspire us to keep going.