A (former) student just gave me my first Christmas present of the year

I’ve been teaching for 16 years. In that time I’ve had countless students and at some point almost all of them graduate. <br><br>Today one of my school secretaries came to my room and told me there was a former student in the office who was looking for me. I went down to find he and his dad waiting for me. <br><br>When he gave me a small gift bag I asked if he’d made something for me. He said it was something he’d purchased. His dad added that he’d been wanting to get me the gift for two years but hadn’t had the chance to contact me yet. <br><br>They said their good byes and left. I untied the ribbon and opened the small gift bag to find a very beautiful small statue of a tree. I pulled out the note that came with it and it said “page four, ‘The Giving Tree’ by Shel Silverstein”.<br><br>His mother was a drug addict and he and his younger sister had been essentially parent-less for at least two years by the time he entered my 5th grade class. I made sure he ate at least one meal a day and worked to help him catch up two grade levels on his reading. <br><br>He was the first student I ever wrote an email to his teacher who was picking him up from school in the evening to let them know how much progress he’d made, just in case there were any tough days ahead. I made sure he had a movie to watch and popcorn to eat with so he wouldn’t feel so alone on the weekends. The same went for Christmas break. <br><br>I was trained in crisis management and counseling. I made sure he knew how to express himself openly. I made sure he knew how to self-regulate when he was feeling overwhelmed. I taught him how to be a good friend and a good citizen. I taught him how to be independent. I didn’t do any of it for any sort of reward. I did it because I love kids. All kids. No matter where they come from or what challenges they face. <br><br>I did it because teaching isn’t just a job. It’s a calling. It’s a vocation. It’s something that requires the very best you have to offer and then some. <br><br>I get paid fairly for my work. It isn’t about the money. It isn’t about the glory or the praise. It’s about knowing you’ve done your job well and that maybe-just maybe-you’ve changed a child’s life for the better. <br><br>You won’t always get a statue or a note to let you know you’ve done a good job. In fact, most of the time you won’t even know if you ever made any difference at all. <br><br>But if you can look yourself in the eye at the end of each day and honestly say, “I did my best”, then you are worthy of praise and glory. <br><br>Even if no one else knows.