Why I Teach: Becoming a Hero

I'm a middle school English teacher.  If any of my former teachers are reading this, they will (a) be shocked I'm entrusted with our future generation, (b) question what happened to the character-education movement, or (c) ask how I made it past high school.

When I was a student in middle school, life seemed to be an endless maze of getting to class on time, getting homework done on time or trying to fit in somewhere. There was the added problem of not wanting to wear my Coke bottle-thick glasses. It didn't help my self-image knowing every night I had to attach my braces to a medieval torture device known as headgear. To this day I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy those awkward middle school years of being laughed at, picked on, and socially lost.

Don't get me wrong, I sat down at the table of popularity in high school and feasted on the misfortune of those I looked upon as inferior. You could say I've had a taste of both worlds. So why did I return to middle school for a career?

To my students, I want to be a hero. Middle school students need a hero helping them during the life-changing-foundation-to-grow-from years. I teach in order to be the positive difference in a kid's life. Through literature, writing and multi-media projects, I can reach students and hopefully help them begin to make sense of their world and where they might have a spot in it. Teaching with the English standards in mind these days is second nature for me. But it is also important that we, as English teachers, keep our students at the center of all that we teach.

Every month, my students write a "Letter to Mr. Mo." For the past 12 years, my students have been writing these letters. First, though, they receive a letter from me. They read about my life memories, dreams for the future, current life events and the knowledge (if any) I have gained along the way. From the middle school perspective, I can share stories I've learned through being bullied and regrets I have of bullying others.

Students write back, and I read about their lives, their dreams, their drama, their laughter and their hardships. Devoting, on average, a half-hour per letter, I write back—connecting with them as a person and grading them as a teacher who values pride in work. Most pass. Some fail. But all sit silently and read my comments about life when I return their letters to them. The grade is an afterthought.

I teach because I want my students to live up to their potential. I want them to share universal values that we take the time to discuss during the school year through the works of real heroes like Langston Hughes, Claude McKay, Maya Angelou, Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Frost and so many other great writers. Their works allow my students to develop a positive value system in a world where most media showcases otherwise. Trust me, it would be far easier to ignore the issues of my middle school students, have them open textbooks, read silently and answer questions 1 to 4 to earn 100 points. That’s just not in my value system. 

After all, the hero must stand for something. These students, who sometimes struggle to be heard and seen for who they truly are, need a guidepost. I stand daily, ready to guide.

Mostransky is a middle school English teacher in Albany, N.Y.