What does anyone really want?

I read numerous  blogs...many of them written by educators.  I follow  numerous people on Twitter....many of them educators.  The other day, I re-tweeted a tweet that said

"Dear America, teachers are the solution to education, not the problem" (@hiphughes). 

 I was excited because several of my colleagues re-tweeted my re-tweet.    

There was another tweet from Edutopia called 6 Characteristics at the heart of teaching and the blog article that was attached: "The Heart of Teaching: What it means to be a Great Teacher" written by Rusul Alrubail.  The article talks about qualities like kindness, compassion, empathy, positivity, being a builder, and being inspirational.  

What does anyone really want from schools?

I once had a student tell me that  grades K-12 are about  reading, writing and arithmetic but school is  really just to teach children how to play nice with others.  It is a time when you learn to communicate.  He felt that the real learning happened as you were older and learned what it was you wanted to be.  

I have had graduates come back and see me and thank me for always just being there; for being supportive no matter how many mistakes they made.

I have had graduates email me and tell me how fabulously they are doing and how much they enjoy college and wish they had someone like me to help them.

I have had graduates come back and tell me how they are still looking for what it is they want to do.

We have recently entered the testing "season".   It gives me ulcers.  It causes me so much stress....I can barely turn my head some days.  I was getting a room of students ready to test the other day. I told them if they heard a thump, it would be me hitting the floor because I  passed out. I was so anxious.  I was nervous and so were they.    We survived.  

No one has ever come back and said, "Thanks! You really prepared me for that test!"

No matter how hard I have been on a student challenging them to  do more....No matter how much I have tried to help my students with their academics, their  life plans, their vision of the future

NO ONE HAS EVER COME BACK TO THANK ME FOR THEIR PERFORMANCE ON  A STANDARDIZED TEST.