Patience

Patience is defined on dictionary.com as "the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like." We are NOT born with patience. Patience is a learned quality that many people lack. When I was heading into my internship, my cooperating teacher asked me what my biggest goal was for myself during this time. Rather than speak of educational goals, I informed her that I was most interested in patience. Keep in mind that I am the oldest of 3 children. You learn to have that only child syndrome before a sibling is brought into the world, and even then, it's not like you become a patient person. You still believe you will get everything you ask for, or that all of the good things in life will happen to you before it does to any of your siblings. Well, it doesn't necessarily go that way! I don't know at exactly what point I learned to become a patient person. I think it started around the end of my first serious relationship. I FINALLY figured out that if I gave my boyfriend a chance to answer questions without prodding, he would come around. Then I turned 19 though and once again my life became all about me. Deciding to become a teacher was a huge decision. It was going to force me to put others before myself. This would mean working with a classroom full of children! Anywhere from 5-18 years old or even older! As a teacher your patience gets tested everyday. Many teachers don't have the ability to deal with certain issues that pertain to being a patient person. I on the other hand, have made it a personal goal to remain patient the majority of the time, which, it my eyes, almost defines their ability to be effective teachers. That is not to say that my patience doesn't get tested on a daily basis. I had a moment yesterday when one of my students sat down to work beside me. Daily he tests my patience. As a matter of fact, I don't believe we've had a good day since he started in my class. Lack of drive and motivation in students really bothers me, and I have had a hard time working with him for these reasons. Well, I decided to be patient and kind (I am kind to him everyday- don't read into that wrong) and work directly with him for a half hour. The amount of work he completed and his positive attitude honestly made my day! I mean, he is just a child! It was a great moment for me and moments like this remind me that I AM supposed to be a teacher. When they said "Patience is a virtue", they were not joking, and I feel that is a virtue that I possess.