But even the greatest days didn't make it any easier to get up at 5:00 in the morning. It was the only possible day that I could get to bed before 11:00pm on school nights. But with mountains of correcting of students’ homeworks every day, that possibility was basically impossible. So here I was shocking myself awake with a cold shower so I could stay alert for the approaching¹ new day.

My wife got up every morning with me and took the opportunity to share some talks with me over a cup of coffee. We both cherished² this time together because other than our morning talks we spent too little time together. After a few minutes I said my good-byes and always remembered to kiss my sleeping daughter. I also spent too little time with her but that was the nature called teaching.

I was always off to work before 6:00 am because it was critical to arrive at school at least 45 minutes early to complete any final preparations for my classes. At about 7:00 am the school buses arrived. In came the numerous students. The entrance was very noisy. But they were young and youth and full of energy. My classes always began with a review of what we had covered the previous³ day. Most of my students began to pay attention but I always saw in their eyes that they would rather be anywhere else. They didn’t understand why they were being forced to learn something they thought they would never use and probably soon forget.

I tried to explain that in their futures they would appreciate⁴ understanding various ideas and concepts so they could successfully make decisions in their lives. But this always seemed useless.

Lunch was rarely experienced. I only had a few minutes left of the twenty minutes block I was allotted⁵ because it was necessary for me to set up for my afternoon classes. So instead of eating I went to my mail box to find useful materials for the lessons.

Some days I even got letters from the parents of “underachieving⁶ students” asking why their children were not doing well in my class and why I was not able to earn the money paid by correctly teaching their children. I tried to explain to them that students in many of my classes were being challenged⁷ and that the constant⁸ perfect grades enjoyed by their children in earlier grades were not that attainable⁹ in the higher grades. I also explained to many a parent that their children couldn’t be perfect in everything they do. Some were better in English than Math. And others were better in English than Math. These parents never left convinced¹⁰ of my arguments. I prayed every day that I didn't put this kind of strain¹¹ on my daughter.

At the end of the day, that’s just like the beginning of the day, students were full of energy again and show their strong vigor. I looked around my room and see various pieces of crushed¹² paper on the floor and in the desks. I knew I couldn’t delay because I must clean the room and set up the chairs so the doormen could sweep the room. Sometimes I had a faculty¹³ meeting or a department meeting. On many occasions the meetings made me late for going home.

As I was cleaning my room and the last student left from extra help, one of my students entered and explained that she didn’t know how to solve the maths problem, but which I had repeated in the class for several times. I had to spend another twenty minutes to help her. It was rather late for going home. But as she was leaving my room she turned around and thanked me for being a teacher, her teacher.

Suddenly I felt I had a great day.

1. approach [E5prEutF] vt. 接近，靠近

2. cherish [5tFeriF] vt. 珍惜

3. previous [5pri:vjEs] adj. 在前的，早先的

4. appreciate [E5pri:Fieit] vt. 赏识，鉴赏，感激

5. allot [E5lCt] vt. 分配，分派

6. underachieving [5QndErE5tFi:viN] adj. 学习成绩不良的，未能发挥学习潜能的

7. challenge [5tFAlindV] vt. 向……挑战

8. constant [5kCnstEnt] adj. 不变的，持续的，坚决的

9. attainable [E5teinEbl] adj. 可到达的，可得到的

10. convinced [kEn5vInst] adj. 确信的，深信的

11. strain [strein] n. 过度的疲劳，紧张，张力

12. crush [krQF] vt. 压碎，碾碎

13. faculty [5fAkElti] n. 全体教员

教师的一天

我度过了美好的一天。

即使是最美好的一天，也不能使我在早上5:00起床时感觉到更轻松一点。不过这可能是唯一的一天，我也许能在这个工作日的晚上在11点之前上床睡觉。但是每天要批改堆积如山的作业，这种可能也基本上是不可能的。所以我淋了个冷水浴，以使自己在这即将来临的新的一天保持清醒的状态。

我的妻子每天早晨与我同时起床，借喝咖啡的时间来聊一些话题。我们都很珍惜早晨在一起的这段时间，因为这是我们唯一的交流机会。几分钟后我和妻子告别，而且总是记得亲吻我熟睡中的女儿。由于这种教书的天性，我几乎没有时间和她在一起。

我总是在六点钟之前去学校，因为要至少提前45分钟为我的课做最后的准备是很重要的。大概7点左右学校班车到了。学生们蜂拥而上，入口处非常嘈杂。他们是如此的年轻，充满了青春的活力。我的课总是以复习前一天的课文内容开始。大部分的学生都能够集中注意力，但我总是能从他们的眼里看出，他们宁愿待在除了教室以外的任何地方。他们不理解为什么要强迫他们学习他们认为将来永远也用不着，并且可能很快就会忘记的东西。

我试图向他们解释，在将来他们会因为懂得各种各样的观念和观点，并能够利用这些知识，成功地在他们的生活中做出正确的选择而感到欣慰。但这些解释基本不起任何作用。

我很少吃午餐。在二十分钟午餐时间里我往往只剩下短短的几分钟，因为我必须为下午的课做好准备。所以我不吃饭而是跑到我的邮箱去找一些对下午的课有用的素材。

有时候，我甚至收到一些所谓“差生”的父母的来信，他们质问我为什么我教的那科他们的孩子成绩不好，为什么我拿了工资却不能正确地教育他们的孩子。我试图向他们解释我们班的许多学生正在接受挑战，他们在以前取得比较好的成绩，并不意味着永远能保持这个分数。我还向很多家长解释，他们的孩子不可能十全十美，每科成绩都好。一些同学可能在英语方面比数学要强，而另一些同学则恰恰相反。但这些家长从来都不相信我的评论。我每天都在告诉自己我绝不会把这种压力施加到我女儿的身上。

一天的结束就像一天的开始，同学们又展现出了他们无穷的活力。我环顾了教室四周，地面上，桌子里到处都是碎纸片。我知道我不能浪费时间，必须马上清理教室，摆好桌椅，以便于学校门卫可以清扫教室。有时候我还必须参加全体教师会议，或者是部门会议。在很多情况下，这些会议使我很晚才回家。

正当我在清理我的办公室，最后一个补习的学生准备离开的时候，一个学生走进来说，有一道数学题她还没有弄懂。但是这道题我已经在课堂上讲过多次了。我不得不又花了二十分钟帮她解决这道题。已经很晚了。但当她正要离开我办公室的时候，她转过身来向我表示感谢，谢谢我能够成为她的老师。

突然，我觉得这是非常美好的一天。

(转载请注明出处，谢谢)