What is the teacher thinking when she is teaching?

Before everything starts, let me tell you how I think about teaching, so it might help you  get a glimpse of what the teacher is thinking when she is teaching. 

I have been teaching Public English for two and a half years now,  three whole years by the end of this new semester. 

I remember asking one of my former classes what they want to do in the future. Not a single student wanted to be a teacher. If anyone did say "teacher", then I was pretty sure it was simply an English word they uttered that represents a profession.  No offence, but sometimes, due to very limited vocabulary, they have to lie just so that they could give you an ideal answer in English.  I don't quite remember a lot of their dreams they told me, but popular dreams among them were being a photographor, a journalist,  a writer or some artist, which used to be my dreams too. Why not? I was imaginative too back then. Still, why very few students chose to become a teacher in the future? Reasons? I did ask them. So, here are the answers I got:  

"Teaching  is a lot of work."

"Teaching is not easy. "

"Teaching doesn't pay much. "

"Teaching is like nothing new. "

...

What happens to the long summer vacation and winter vacation? What happens to the sense of stablity and security the job offers you? 

Sure, they do admire people whose jobs come with longer holidays and vacations, but so what?

 It's like, if you got to be with the one you love, every day is valentine's day. If you got to do the job you love, every day is a holiday. 

As for me, I felt nothing special about being a teacher as well, until I became one and  It has been an amazing journey for me. 

 I could still remember the excitement I felt when I first got this job after constant job hunting fatigue, the nervousness when I first got onto the stage, worrying the young faces would see me through as a rookie, the happiness when I was first recogonized and greeted  in the campus by some students whose names I couldn't tell yet, the disappointment when I saw the students wasting their time on video games and soap operas at class instead of academic studies, the embarrassment when I made an apparent mistake at class, the challenges when I tried to  get acknowledgements from my students, etc.Those were not just emotions. They were also parts of growth, of a green hand in teaching profession. I was not just teaching. I was learning and growing. I still am.  

I have learnt that teaching is not about the teacher, it's about the students; teaching is not just about passing on the knowledge, it's more about cultivating students' right values and helping students discover their hidden self, a better self with limitless possibilities; teaching is  not about giving a man a fish and feeding him for a day, rather, it's about teaching a man to fish and feeding him for a lifetime, etc. 

Teaching is an ever lasting challenge. However hard you try, it's never good enough. The good part is, your students would know if you really tried. Be it just one student or two, their eagerness to learn and grow with you is enough to keep you going. 

With that said, I am ready to start a new journey with all of you. Are you?