why did I become a teacher?

Yeah! Why did I become a teacher?!? I did it because I wanted to have a relationship with students in the same way I saw Michelle (my wife) have with her students. It was what got me into teaching and its what keeps me here. I had a student who was pregnant last semester. She and I emailed about her "plight" and we talked back and forth about how this isn't the end of her life. Its simply the beginning of another chapter of her life. Well, yesterday was the first time I had heard from her since last semester. She emailed me a picture of her son! This totally blew me away. We talked small talk to catch up (all through email) and then there at the bottom of the page was the sweetest little boy you've ever seen! I think this kind of relationship, one that lasts beyond the walls of my classroom, is exactly what I was "searching for" when I decided to teach. Do you have reasons that keep you in teaching? What do you do to build relationships that are meaningful and last beyond the walls of your building?