What was the most memorable moment in your teaching career?

Answer 1

There were at least hundreds of very memorable moments, but one of the most satisfying actually didn't happen until my career was over. My daughter went back as a student teacher to the little community and school where I had taught for several years before she was even born. There she met a man who had been there when I taught there, and I had taught his kids. He said to her, "Your mother was the best teacher who ever taught in this school. The kids always liked her and she liked them and she was always able to get them to learn." To me, that meant more than awards and promotions. and career advancement ever could.

Answer 2

I worked with special ed. high school students in ESL (at the time of this incident). The students had to do "free writing" journals - that I would look at and comment on.
One student regularly called out questions on spelling. The day that was the most memorable was the one when he asked how to spell "I.D." Thank god there was a paraprofessional in the room as I ran out laughing. Once she had asked the student, "What's the first letter?", I was gone. The next year he asked how to spell, "VCR". I just gave him a look. He said, "Oh, I did it again?" Uh-huh!

Answer 3

I work with preschoolers with disabilities, and one year we had a student who had very severe cerebral palsy. This child could not use a cup (among other things). We worked for months and months on his ability to use a cup (with no lid). The day he first drank from a cup, on his own, holding it himself- our class had a party. See, for children with special needs, even the mundane things that we take for granted are reasons to celebrate. Learning to use a cup is a natural thing for most people, and not something to get overly excited about, but when you have spent so much time investing yourself into someone else's efforts, it becomes personal. You feel as much success as the child when they accomplish something... even something as simple as being able to use a cup. That was a memorable day for me... just to see the proud expression on that little guy's face.

Answer 4

I homeschool my children, but at one time I was a teacher in a private school. I "ran into" one of my former students and the fact that she remembered me four years later was heart warming. Her mother told me that she would talk about me at home and tell her how much she loved me.

Teaching is the most wonderful and rewarding career.
Too bad they aren't paid as much as a professional athlete - they certainly effect more lives than any one athlete.