We are teachers.

We are managers who oversee and control everything that occurs in our classroom whether it may be emotional, physical, mental, or academic. We are therapists who listen when someone is having a melt-down. We are actors who rehearse everyday in front of the toughest crowd. We are eternal students; we deliver seven presentations per day, five days per week—that is seven areas of content that we must know inside and out. We are mothers, sisters, daughters, wives, aunts, best friends, and supporters.

But most importantly, we are teachers.

We are responsible for shaping each student’s character just as much as his or her parent. We are head coaches. We are cheerleaders. We are dreams. We supervise practice, referee, encourage, and mediate. We are mentors, heroes, idols, and role models.

But most importantly, we are teachers.

We are held accountable for our personal lives just as much as our professional. We are planners who govern six hours of our students’ lives everyday. We are philosophers who challenge ideas and opinions and dig for a deeper meaning.

But most importantly, we are teachers.

We are liable for every failure just as much as every success. We are crisis managers who know that what happens outside the classroom will always affect what occurs inside the classroom. We know that there is a time and place for everything. We are clowns when we need to encourage and motivate. We are inventors of new procedures, activities, and ideas. We are the president of our classroom.

But most importantly, we are teachers.

We are thrill-seekers, and nothing gives us a greater rush than when a student triumphs. We are responsible for educating every future professional in the world. We love a great challenge while we appreciate tranquility. We are nurses who heal little scrapes. We are body guards who protect our student with all of our being. We are collectors of materials and information.

But most importantly, we are teachers.

We are accommodating to every student no matter his or her race, religion, ethnicity, or disability. We are resourceful; we have to be able to teach a lesson in a hundred different ways. We are eternal optimists. We expect the best and will not accept anything else. We are strict. We are loving. We are human. We are held to the highest standard, and we are people too.

But most importantly, we are teachers.