Your job is to teach the curriculum, right? Sure—for part of the day. But when you stop to think about it, you also play a wide array of other roles every day.

1. Actor. You prepare for each class as if it were a command performance.
2. Builder. You build in the wonder, the awe, and the fascination to inspire tomorrow's engineers, doctors, nurses, teachers, politicians, and parents.
3. Caretaker and caregiver. Many students excel because a special person helped them along the way: a teacher.
4. Director. You're in charge of the whats and whens in your classroom.
5. Enforcer. You're the one who enforces the classroom rules.
6. Fighter. Sometimes you have to take a stand for what you believe is best for a child.
7. Giver. You give of your time and of yourself—in and out of the classroom.
8. Helper. Perhaps the most important help you give is helping students learn to help themselves.
9. Instructor. Truly, this is the heart of teaching.
10. Joiner. You need a support network, so you reach out to colleagues and you join professional organizations and community groups.
11. Keeper. You keep track of attendance, grades, milk money, hot lunches, permission slips, line leaders, library books, mittens, and much more!
12. Listener. Every day you listen to your students to find out what their interests are. Then you build these into your lessons.
13. Magician. Learning is magic. As you teach students to read, write, calculate, and investigate, you unlock the magic for them.
14. Nurturer. You care for your students like you would care for blooming flowers.
15. Optimist. You see the good things happening in schools—even when the evening news says otherwise.
16. Psychologist. You're a keen observer of kids.
17. Questioner. You ask your students thought-provoking questions; then you guide them in searching out the answers.
18. Role model. You let your students know that you care and that you believe in them.
19. Strategist. A well-planned lesson helps you get your students' attention—and keep it.
20. Tutor. You give your students individual attention whenever you can. You also find times when they can tutor each other.
21. Umpire. You live by these watch words: you're fair, firm, and consistent.
22. Victor. You celebrate your teaching victories, and you congratulate your colleagues on their successes too.
23. Writer. When you have an activity or a project that works well, you write it up and submit it to a teaching magazine like THE MAILBOX!
24. Xerox specialist. Who else can unjam paper, change toner, and make a ream of paper last for months?
25. Yourself. Your students know and love you as a person.
26. Zealot. You do your job with enthusiasm and energy—it's the most important job in the world!

©1998 The Education Center, Inc. ⋅ The Mailbox® Teacher