One of the great things about teaching adults is that the teacher is (usually) appreciated by the students, who have all had some life experience, and see the point in being in school again ... They see how it will help them in their careers and in their lives - otherwise they simply quit - they don't have to be in school.
Occasionally an appreciative student would give me a gift. Here are two that I keep on my desk. I use the flower pot for pens - it's a bit small for flowers - and the plaque usually holds a glass of water or a cup of coffee...
The flower pot says - A teacher plants seeds that bloom over a lifetime.
Both remind me - not only that teachers have a tremendous impact on students' lives, but that - in fact - we all have a unique impact on everyone we meet. We all have the opportunity to make or break someone's day... To give a good or bad impression of what we symbolize, be that a mother, a teacher, a postman, a young person, an old person, a religious person, a white (brown or black) person, a city person, a country person, a salesperson, a customer... The list could go on forever! Most people we encounter will never get to know us, but they will all get an impression about us - often only a first impression. They may never see us again... But they get an impression about us ... and the group of people we represent in their eyes...
Every day we all affect the lives of everyone we meet in some way. Some of the things we say and do will outlive us. I have many memories of people who are long gone - and the fact that I remember them means that they affect me somehow.
Not only teachers - EVERYBODY plants seeds that grow forever.
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