Why I Teach

Why Do I Teach?
I’ve been asking myself this question quite a bit lately. Why do I keep showing up, day after day, putting my heart and soul into a job when I haven’t received a raise in two years?

As I write this, my colleagues and I, members of the Vestal Teachers Association, are without a successor agreement, which expired at the end of the 2024 school year. What complicates things further is that I’m not just an educator in this district; I’m also a community member with two children in my building.

Despite the low morale that has come with an unsettled contract, never mind the additional burdens it has created, like navigating creative family budgeting, attending informational pickets, and frequent board of education meetings, it always comes back to one thing: the kids.

Being part of the community within which I teach adds a weight and responsibility I don’t take lightly. I feel as though I am driven by a purpose that far exceeds the contractual obligations of my job. If it truly takes a village to raise a child, then I’d better be playing my part in that mission, especially when my own daughters are the beneficiaries.

I teach because one day my students will be my neighbors, my first responders, my bank tellers, my nurses, my essential workers, and maybe even my colleagues. I teach because these young people, no matter how much they challenge us or keep us awake at night, will one day shape the communities we live in. They are the future, and they are our future.

I never take for granted the impact my words, actions, or lessons may have on these developing minds. We are given a limited amount of time to make a difference in these lives; 180 days, roughly 7,200 minutes, but the return on that investment is immeasurable. Our work becomes a legacy, carried forward in the lives of the students we serve, spread throughout communities near and far. We lay the seeds of a future harvest we hope will nurture generations to come.

That is why I teach.