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A Letter to a Future Teacher
By Joseph Pizzat
A grandfather who devoted his life to education writes a very special letter to his granddaughter, a future teacher
Dear Laura,
It was wonderful being with you this Christmas. I was delighted to hear that you want to be a teacher and that you are aware of this calling at your age.
Did you know your Aunt Paula knew she wanted to be a teacher when she was five years old? On the other hand, I didn't realize that I wanted to teach until after five years of college. I've now been an art teacher for 49 years. But enough stories of the olden days!
If you still want to be a teacher as you get older, you'll continue a long line of family members who joined the profession. In addition to your dad, a tennis teacher, and myself, an art teacher, Aunt Paula is a teacher of gifted children and Ruth studied to be a high school English teacher. Your great-uncles, were teachers – David was a music teacher and Paul was a professor of architecture and city planning. Grandmother Lusk was a third and fourth grade teacher. My brother Frank – another great-uncle of yours – was a psychology professor.
Grandpa Joe and his granddaughter Laura.
Your great-grandmother on your dad's side wanted to become a teacher, but her father would not allow her to go to school beyond the eighth grade. That's as far as girls with old Italian fathers were supposed to go. Because of your interest in a teaching career, I want to share with you some of my thoughts based on my years as an art and education teacher.
To be a teacher, you have to ask yourself why you want to become one. Do you want to make a difference in children's lives? Are you really interested in helping others learn? Do you think you can receive joy from teaching others? Then you have to ask, do I have or can I master the skills necessary to become a good teacher?
To become a good teacher, you must want to be one for the right reasons. You must:
- Believe all children want to and can be learners
- Accept students for who they are. No one is perfect, and as a teacher, your task is to encourage each student to do their very best
- Be a creative person and allow creative doing, thinking and feeling within your classroom
- Possess other personal qualities such as being patient, caring, accepting, honest and fair. You must also be mindful that attributes like selfishness, sarcasm and ridicule will have a negative impact on your students
- Continue to be a learner all your life
I have been blessed in being able to spend my adult life as an art educator and artist. Today I still have a passion for what I do and I believe in teaching. I pray that, God willing, you will also be so blessed.
With much Italian love and hugs,
Your Grandfather
