What a teacher is...

The following is from the book Wounded by School by Kirsten Olson - a great read.

~ A teacher touches individual students.
~ A teacher teaches individuals, not classes.
~ A teacher sees the possibilities in her (his) students.
~ A teacher gives hope.
~ A teacher gives voice.
~ A teacher navigates.
~ A teacher explores.
~ A teacher is patient.
~ A teacher learns with his or her students.
~ A teacher discovers.
~ A teacher is a parent.
~ A teacher accepts children as they are, not as he or she would like them to be.

by Bernard Gassaway, superintendent of alternative schools in NYC