Perhaps I should think of myself as a convenience for my students -- an appliance, perhaps, that assists them in building a passably satisfying academic life for themselves. Just as a laptop computer is seen as a convenience for the traveling executive, making her or him a more effective and efficient manager of the company’s affairs, I might consider myself – and I’m completely serious -- as a sort of utensil for my students to utilize as they pursue their studies. Don’t we surround ourselves with conveniences, and aren’t some of these conveniences of special and necessary importance to us? If I want to read at night, I have lamps suitably ready to glow and give good light for my eyes. If I want a drink of water, I have the convenience of the faucet and its trustworthy flow. Conveniences make it easier for us to do essential tasks, and isn’t that what a teacher does? The students want to learn – need to learn -- and Mr. Salsich is there to make the task easier, more convenient, for them. Similar to a stapler or a pencil sharpener or a laptop, I’m ready to assist the young people as they prepare themselves for their futures. The word “convenience” derives from the Latin word meaning “to come together”, and I guess what I’m doing as an English teacher is helping my students come together in the classroom to discover and prosper, helping their individual talents come together to write and read with wisdom, and helping their faith and confidence in themselves come together so they can simply smile a little more often.
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