Teaching and Raising Kids: Lessons I Learned As A Teacher
As the Philippines celebrates World Teacher’s Day, here are some lessons I’ve learned as a teacher.
Teachers can make or break a child’s spirit — that’s something that we’ve heard for years. They’re the child’s second parent; they’re the ones who make sure that the kids have a safe space to practice the tools and thinking frameworks they need to survive. But people don’t really know that as a teacher, sometimes, we go through a lot. And being a tutor and a teacher (once) myself, here are some lessons that I’ve learned as a teacher to commemorate World Teacher’s Day.
1. Teaching is a job of passion, not profit
Unless you’re a teacher in Germany, there’s not much money found in education. It’s probably why most kids look down on or “bully” their teachers, believing their lack of financial status makes them “lower.” But teachers are wealthy in a different sense; they have a lot of knowledge to pass on. All that knowledge is impossible to contain in one person and teachers just have to share it.
2. As a teacher, you get to learn and teach at the same time
It’s something I picked up from my coach, “Being a teacher means you don’t just teach what you’ve already mastered but you get to see the art you’ve mastered being applied in ways you’ve probably never seen before.”
That’s what I’ve discovered for myself. The world when I was just a student had more mechanical methods; everything is done by hand and that’s why some people are just so good at deconstructing problems. But in today’s world, we have gadgets and even AI to make things easier. Some of my students have been quick to rely on AI. especially for their writing assignments but it’s easy to figure out whether they did it or someone else did.
3. Don’t be afraid to take a sick day
As a teacher, I know how important consistency is especially with lessons. There’s reinforcement; the more they practice it, the more they’ll be able to do it on habit. The thing is, teachers can’t always be there to prompt their students to behave in a certain way. Especially when we’re sick, we’re bound to misinform them. So, don’t be afraid to take a sick day.

4. It’s not the kids that are exhausting; it’s the responsibility of handling them all
What’s not to love about kids running around and engaging you in any way possible? If you’re paid to play, why not? Unfortunately, the caveat is that we’re still their teachers, points of authority. We have to make sure that we also teach them the hard lessons. Even if it means becoming the villain sometimes in their narrative.
5. Teachers would prefer if you’re honest that you don’t understand
Nobody likes to look like they don’t understand but teachers need to know. Not because it’s an ego boost but because we genuinely care that you don’t know. We would gladly put aside time to make sure everything makes sense. Why? It’s because we’ve been there too; a teacher in the past did that for us so we want to be that teacher for you too!
6. Teachers know that the kids are stressed out by their parents sometimes…
A teacher would never say anything against the parents; that’s unprofessional! But we will find a way to work around the pressures to make it easier for the kids. After working with kids for so long, some can already detect that things at home are stressing out their students. We work with them 8 hours a day, 5 days a week — if there’s anyone who’ll probably notice something’s up, it’s us.
Thank you to all the teachers who have come and go
As kids, we go through a wide array of teachers but only a few make a good impression. Some we remember because of their looks but, there are some we recall fondly because of how much effort they invested in us. A lot of the ways we behave, think and learn are because of these teachers. In some cases, these teachers are the ones who also taught some of us how to be better parents.
So, if you have the time this World Teacher’s Day, a short direct message to your beloved teacher thanking them for all the good they did is one way to help celebrate the work they’ve put in.
More about teachers?
6 Movies That Will Make You Hug Your Teacher
Dear Online Tutors: Thank You For Helping Our Kids
How the K-12 Curriculum Worked But Made Teachers and Families Struggle