Nothing pathetic about it.

This evening, I was walking at Lake Patsy Park with Emily, a friend who recently started her first year as a fourth grade teacher. We were chatting casually about her classroom—she sharing with me all the joys and pains of her first-year experience. Suddenly, beside the pond near the path we saw a young boy pull a rather large fish from the water. Everyone walking around the pond noticed his fine catch. The others stared, but they said nothing. Almost instantly, however, Emily and I broke into applause. It wasn’t planned or coordinated, but it was spontaneous. We began peppering him with questions like “Do you know how to take it off the hook?” “What kind of fish is that?” “Is that the biggest one you’ve ever caught?” He grinned and answered our questions with “Yes Ma’am.” “It’s a bass.” and “Maybe.”

We continued walking and then looked at each other and started laughing. “Only teachers would start applauding,” said Emily.

“We are so pathetic.” I responded.

It was only a joke, but I knew that we weren’t really pathetic. We were just naturally delighted at the accomplishment.

That’s a teacher’s job: to be naturally delighted at the accomplishments of children. Teachers encourage, praise, question, and revel in the happiness of the little ones they share their days with. This is the joy of teaching. Nothing pathetic about it.