Compassion

Compassion is very important, and I believe that every teacher should be able to show compassion with students.  Compassion can be a very touchy issue with teachers and students.  For example, when is it proper to show compassion and who deserves compassion?  These are a couple of questions I think a teacher has to think about.  To show compassion, a teacher must get to know his/her students and get to understand different personalities and lifestyles.

In some ways, compassion can be linked to respect.  I know that I respected teachers that were able and willing to show compassion over the ones who did not.  Although I think compassion is important, it is also important not to pity a student.  Every student deserves the right from their teacher to earn his/her compassion, but pity is a characteristic that should be left out of teaching in most cases.  Thus, to wrap up my whole spiel and ramblings pertaining to compassion, I think caring and showing compassion go a long way in making a good teacher.  I know that I am very thankful to all my teachers that I have had in the past that have showed me compassion.

I cannot talk about just one teacher that showed compassion and made a difference in my life.  Instead, one experience stands out the most in my education career, and it was all the teachers coming together as one to show compassion toward their students.  During my junior year in high school, one of my good friends, and a friend to almost everyone in the school, committed suicide.  It came as a shock to me, as well to my classmates and the school as a whole.  My friend was a happy, go lucky kid and always had a smile on his face.  He was involved in sports and was a good student.  I still remember the day very well.  It was a Wednesday morning when everyone found out in school.  Once everyone heard the announcement, no one wanted to study or go to class.  Instead of making everyone go through the normal routine and attend every class, the teachers and administration gave students the option.  We could go to class or we could hang out in the student center and be with our friends.  This meant a lot to my classmates and myself.  The teachers and administration showed us that they cared about us.  They showed that they didn't just care about our grades or performance, instead they showed they cared about us as people and individuals.  I will never forget the compassion the whole staff as a whole showed to us on that particular day.

To become a teacher, a person must be able to show compassion.  If they can't, they should not be working with kids.  Compassion does not need to be showed all the time, but it is necessary and a teacher must know when it is necessary.  Maybe a student is having problems at home or maybe they just lost an important sporting event for their team in school.  This goes back to getting to know your students.  Every student is different, thus a teacher must get to know each of their students individually so they know when and when not to show compassion.  Also, if you show compassion as a teacher, your students will show compassion right back.  Showing compassion can go a long way in a student's life, and sometimes it is all a kid needs from their teacher to turn their whole day or week around.