Your Teaching Legacy

In early January my dad passed away after a lengthy degenerative illness. He had been a junior high and high school choral music director for his entire career of 40+ years. Most of that time he spent teaching in a small school district in a tight-knit community here in Iowa.

After his death, news began to spread through the grapevine of former students and colleagues and a flood of messages began flowing through our social media feed. Comment after comment shared ways that Dad had left a lasting impact on students’ lives.

Here's just one example:

As the messages poured in, I was amazed by how many people had memories of Dad that went far deeper than just, "he was a nice teacher.” Student after student shared how Dad left an enduring mark on their lives, sometimes even influencing their career path or changing their outlook on life.

As I began to reflect on my dad’s amazing legacy, I wondered, How did you do it, Dad? It was clear from every memory shared that he cared deeply and genuinely about his students, not just as it related to their musical development, but also their personal lives and everything that effected them as individuals.

Although some of his students went on to have music-related careers, most did not, and probably for the majority of his former students, music does not play a major role in their daily lives. And yet, their high school chorus teacher’s legacy lives on in some way.

It made me realize that the most important thing about teaching isn’t what we teach, but how we teach. Students may or may not remember or use what we teach them today in their future lives. But we can still give them something that they will be able to carry with them throughout their lives.

I believe that the things that Dad was able to pass on to his students—with or without words— were his patience, his gentle nature, a genuine interest in their lives, and a deep personal faith that carried through everything he did.

I’m sure that my dad had no idea how many of the things he said stayed with his students throughout their lives. He didn’t know that the way he led his classes would impact so many. He probably thought that his teaching career had been pretty unremarkable. But it wasn’t.

We don’t have the ability to see through the years to how our teaching will impact the future lives of our students. But we can choose to teach in a way that will leave a legacy. Chances are, we will never know what that legacy will be. We won’t be there to hear what former students say at our funeral. But we can care about each student—their problems, personal lives, insecurities, and future—enough to give them something that will stay with them.

It probably won’t be what’s in your lesson plan or in the textbook. It definitely won’t be what’s coming up on the next test. But the really important things are what your students need most. To know they are valuable, that they matter to someone, that they are capable, that there is someone who believes in them.

With thoughtful words and actions, we can impact our students in a way that will outlive this school year, our career, and our life on this earth. We may not know the legacy we left behind, but our students will.