The Young Students' Teacher

The Young Students’ Teacher

©2009 Robert C Burnham 

- for Jennifer Lee, my sister Randi and all other folks called to teach our youngest students; the future of the world is in their classrooms -

You touch the little ones

With the way you care

You show them by your smile

That life is good and radiant

Sometimes they don’t seem

To notice you

And I know that must

Be so hard on your heart

But, do not falter;

Because – after-all, you are

Competing with the likes of

Spiderman

Wonder Woman

Superman and Santa Claus

The new puppy, the grouchy

Mommy and the dad who’s always

working late

But I did say ‘seems’, didn’t I?

Because, even when they don’t appear

To be listening – oh, they are

They are absorbing, so rapidly,

Each gesture you make each smile

You give and every lesson you offer

Remember, they are so young,

So little, And you -

You desire, the selfless role

You play.

You will not be there when their

Eyes light up as they finally understand

The Quadratic Equation or Bernoulli's Principle

Or see how ecstatic

They become when their essay of Great

American Literature is applauded and

Rewarded by scholarship

No, you will not, because, when they

Are yours, they are so young

But it is you who turned on their

Light of knowledge and nurtured

Their sense of discovery

They are but little students

And you give your all to them

And twenty years from now

They will remember,

Your gift to them – they will remember

You were their teacher.

Randi, teaching Carolina                                                        Jen, teaching California 

~ ~ thanks for attending class today ~ ~