I am surrounded by children every day. It's one of the perks of my job. They entertain me, amuse me, frustrate and infuriate me, but they never cease to teach me and make me look at the world in unexpected ways. Like the child who wrote, "Snakes are very dangerous because if they bite you, you will die, but if you go to the doctor quickly then you will die slowly." The eternal optimists, my children, all 121 of them, fill my life with a positive, forgiving attitude that is far more sustaining than any chicken soup.
I get angry when they don't listen, or don't do their homework, and they forgive me quicker than they forget. The other day I got frustrated with one little girl because she wasn't fulfilling my expectations of her. I told her plainly that she just wasn't trying hard enough and that she was disappointing me. Her mother told me the next time she came to class that that night after my class she went home and asked her dad if I could be her father! Her dad said sure, she must just pack her things and leave anytime, but she finally decided against it!
And then there is the little 4-year-old kindergarten girl, Joy, who told her mother that she is going to marry me. Her older 12-year-old sister, who I teach in the afternoons, seems quite set on the idea as well and told me last week that now that I don't have a girlfriend I can go out with Joy. I haven't explored the possibility with their mother yet, but feel quite certain that she may not be as receptive as her daughters!
I am not the bouncy, jolly teacher that many teachers here seem to be, nor am I the first teacher my students think of when discussing which teachers they have the most fun with, but I hope I am seen as a teacher who loves his students and is genuinely concerned about them and their learning. For young children this aspect is not a conscious part of their evaluations of teachers, who are simply categorized as either fun or strict. I fall into the latter category, expecting much and demanding attentiveness. I am not bothered that I am seen in this way and I do not intend changing my expectations or demands, because I am certain that in time it is these things that my students will remember and appreciate.
As with parents, teachers achieve immortality through the growth, development and achievements of the children they teach. I hope that one day some of my students will mention my name their children.
19 September 2004
Dion Marc Delport