Reflection 10

"The teacher is the gatekeeper."

According to the dictionary, a gatekeeper is a person in charge of a gate to supervise the traffic going through the gate. The dictionary also says that a gatekeeper is a monitor or guardian. So, in saying that the teacher is the gatekeeper, the teacher is being referred to as a guardian. The gate that the teachers guard is a metaphor for the minds of the students.

When a student starts school, their teacher is like a second parent or guardian. Teachers actually spend more time with students then parents actually do. This can be one reason why some students fall in love with their first teachers and may even wish their teachers were their parents. In saying this, it's obvious how much influence a teacher has on their students. Teachers are probably the first ones to open the gates of the world for their students.

This saying is most likely implying that the teacher guards or monitors the gate or mind of their students to try and filter out the negative things that are trying to enter and multiply the positive things. Let's say for instance there is a teacher at an inner city middle school.

Last year only 113 students graduated in a class of 15o and amongst that 113, only 27 were boys. It's a brand new school year now and there is a boy in this teachers class who has the potential to be something great and be a part of the graduating class, but he is easily influenced by the negativity in his neighborhood.

So, the teacher takes a special interest in this boy. She makes sure he does his homework and completes his class work in every class. She even tells him that her classroom door can always be a shelter for him if he needs to get away from the negativity of his surroundings. When June comes around, the little boy is a part of the graduating class.

All this because one teacher decided that he was worth saving and decided to act as a monitor by trying to only allow positive thoughts to enter his mind and being a refuge for him when the negative things would sneak up on him.

Being a teacher means more than completing lesson plans and following the states rules and regulations. Being a teacher means acting as a gatekeeper for all students because in doing so, you are making all the difference.