Chicken Soup for the Sick Teacher

While on the brink of wallowing and self-pity because I got sick when I'm in the most relaxed schedule I've had in six months, I decided to apply the emotional intelligence skill of creating positive emotions by going through the teacher evaluation done by my students for the past school year. Trust me, you read some hilarious ones in there.

Take the next line for example. It started out okay, then I got scared.

"You are my most respected teacher… I want to make you proud... I will kill for you... You are the wind beneath my wings."

Good thing the last sentence was there. It made me realize that it really is just a joke. I thought I had an assassin under my command.

There's this one that said:

"You look like Thranduil in the movie the Hobbit!"

I know I'm not that tall but a hobbit, really? Good thing Google told me Thranduil is an elf. Phew!

There are also prophetic ones like

"I consider you as a good mentor and someday I know you will be a good father mehehe I am serious."

The 'mehehe' and the 'I am serious' part got me confused. Haha

And there are the crazy ones. Crazy because you have a strong feeling they were written by your adorably annoying (aka kulit) students.

"Hi sir and to your… laptop."

"The fact that he's not mine. Please marry me."

"The instructor's out of town trips. He breaks my heart a little bit every time he leaves. But distance makes the heart grow fonder, and I grow fonder of him each passing minute."

Really, now?

And then there are those that melt the heart because even though I had to be strict with them sometimes, they understood the reason behind that facade.

"Your class made this semester seem worth the tuition fee."

"Keep up the good work sir and continue inspiring people."

"He's not just a teacher. He's an inspiration."

Finally, there's this one that comes in very timely because in June 4, 2011 --- 4 years ago --- I quit my career in the industry to go into the academe. A big chunk of me was asking if I made the right decision. And here comes the answer from one of the students four years later:

"Thank you for sacrificing your managerial work. Without that sacrifice we will never have known you."

I know I am far from being a perfect teacher. In fact that is the reason why I read the evaluations and look first at the areas for improvement. But there are comments like the last one that comes out as innocent but ends up profoundly affirming a life decision that I have made in the past. I'll be going away for 3 semesters to pursue a scholarship grant and I am going to miss teaching terribly. But I'll be back. And I'm eagerly looking forward to be back in the classroom.

I feel better now despite the occasional sneezing. Thank you, my dear students.