"Teacher!"

My new title as "Teacher!" echoes within me. It is a "Teacher!" with the Spanish "R" softened at the tip of the tongue. It is toned with voices of 3rd-5th grade students. . .a good pitch. It's not the squeaky octaves of the little guys exploring articulation beyond their accustomed tongue sticking and blubbering. It's not the unharnessed dissonance of puberty, manifesting the insecurity of unwelcome body changes. My students know words and they know themselves. They call me with assurance, frustration, yet an eagerness to learn. They are the epitome of "kids", not the younger siblings struggling to keep up nor the half teens replacing baseball cards and clap games with the right brand of clothes and attention to the opposite sex.

For this reason, I like my students, all  hundred and something of them. And while any seasoned teacher would advise otherwise, I want my students to like me. I want their recommendation on the best Colombian junk food. I want them to laugh at my jokes. I want more than the conditioned "fine thank you" when I ask how they are doing. I want to absorb their kid-ness. Beneath their untamed energy, determination beams from their wandering brown eyes. I owe it to them to be awesome, to give them a reason to want to learn English.

I feel quite distant from this proclamation. Why I struggle to understand their Spanish, eye rolls and sighs are of a universal language. In spite of my diligence of planning, my cardboard visuals and hyperbole demonstrations are drowned in their doodles and whispers. I want my teaching to leave more than the stroke of a dry erase marker. I want to inspire. I need to convince these kids that English soars beyond the concrete confines of their classroom. When did this "Teacher!" become so lame?

I got to figure this out, I have 10 months to do so. For those of you teachers, help me out (or if you are a non-teacher with a strong opinion, that is fine too). How do I inspire? How do I win over Pokemon and One Direction? Please keep in mind that I am teaching with limited resources. Also, if you ever felt like the "Teacher!" who fell short, I'd like to know I'm not alone. :)

The Movie "Stand By Me" so well illustrates the spirit of kids. It reminds me of my students. Except for the 3 days in the woods, dead body, and USA.