It's a Love/Hate Kind of Thing

I love, love, love my job.  I love that I am responsible for teaching 20 amazing kiddos how to read.  I love that every day I am greated by 20 students that are happy to be at school and happy to see me.  I love that first graders are full of compliments.  I love that these students love to learn still.  I love that I get to make a difference in the lives of other.  I love that I get to share God's love with my children (no I can tell them, but I can show them).  I love being able to fill a child with confidence and make them feel like they can do anything.  I just love it. 

But, there's one thing I don't love.  One thing that can take an amazing day and turn it to a gloomy day for me.  One thing that just makes me cringe and even brings tears when the day is over and the kids are gone.  One thing that no matter what I do, I can't change.

Parents.  Not all parents, just a few parents.  Parents who don't love their children.  Parents that hurt their children.  I just don't get it.  I don't see how anyone could repeatidly hurt these kids.  I don't see how a parent could never hug her child.  It baffles me.  It shocks me.  And it breaks my heart. 

I have always found this as the hardest part of my job, but I also find it as a driving force for me to be a better teacher.  It drives me to show my kids God's love even when I'm unhappy with them or having a bad day.  It pushes me to push these students to be the best that they can be and to believe in themselves because I know that school may be the only place they will get that.  It makes me strive to make my classroom a positive and safe place, full of kindess and love from both me and the other students, so that these children have a safe place to be.  While I can't change home, I can change my classroom and myself.