What I will miss most about teaching

Of course I will miss working with young students - I suppose that’s the right thing to say - right?
But, what I will miss most is the “research” feature that I placed on my teaching.  I always strived to be a better teacher of music.  This search for ways to develop educational activities that would enhance the experience for students always peaked my curiosity.  I enjoyed finding-out more about how people learn and have always had a passion for learning.  This interest encouraged me to continue my desire to be the best teacher of music.  So, this is the aspect I will miss most.  I enjoyed attending meetings and making new discoveries.  I would often read a variety of articles and search a variety of resources.  These discoveries would inspire my teaching.  Of course, I would often relate teachings to my faith too.
     I found over the years that many of my colleagues were searching for ways to make their teaching lives easier.  I didn’t search for ways “out” of doing extra work;  I searched for ways to bring me closer to knowledge and wisdom.  I think that many of my colleagues lost-out on the best parts of teaching because they avoided investing the extra time to do the extra “things”.
    To be an effective teacher you need to invest time and practicing your craft.  These means dedication to reading, research, experimentation, communication with partners, spending long days in your teaching space to clean-up and organize.
     I think that I was an effective teacher because I was always willing to do the research and dedicate the extra time to getting the job done.  Preparation is necessary - daily!  To challenge the students and keep them interested required an investment of time, above and beyond the “normal” calling.  You have to be attentive to details;  efficient in your daily routines.  You have to know what you are doing and know who you are working with.  This cannot be done to a high degree if you arrive late in the morning, and leave early at night.
     I hope that now that I am retired, I continue to research because I believe it’s the searching to be better that really helps to make one’s life exciting and interesting!
Bye for now.