Why I do what I do

If you were to lose everything right now - your home, car, job, savings, clothes, food, EVERYTHING - would you end up on the street tonight? Chances are you would not, and neither would I. And why is that? Why, with no place to live, no clean clothes to wear, no food to eat and no job to go to, would we not end up homeless on the street? Because we all have people in our lives who care about us too much to let that happen.

Most of us have a similar understanding of what poverty means - the lack of sufficient funds to provide basic living needs. Over the past few weeks, I have had several conversations with friends, colleagues and family about homelessness and poverty.These conversations had lead me to wonder if poverty should be only defined by money (or lack thereof)? Based on how I (and probably you) answered the opening question, the answer is obviously "no".

When I decided to become a teacher, it wasn't because I had an overwhelming desire to teach. Don't get me wrong, I had and still have a desire to teach. However, I knew I wanted to do something with kids that goes beyond teaching curriculum. Many of the kids I work with face huge challenges on a daily basis; learning, physical and intellectual disabilities; chronic health impairments; behaviour challenges and adversities at home. On paper (and in a very small nutshell), I am responsible for designing, supervising and assessing the educational program for any student with a special need. While I love these aspects of my job, it is what goes on on top of this that really and truly makes me passionate about it.

For me, the most important thing about what I do everyday is connecting with kids. Sadly, there are many, many kids out there who don't have positive relationships with adults. My heart has been broken many times listening to what some of our youngsters have had to deal with; many literally do not have anyone outside of school who cares about them. In a perfect world, I would be able to fix everything for them, but I know I can't. But that doesn't mean I can't be a positive influence in their life. I could go on and on about the things I (& many many other people) do to be "the person", but that is not the point of this post. I already know what I do and I feel pretty damned good about it.

So what is my point? Think back to the opening question. If it's not just about money, what is it about? It's about having positive relationships. I believe we are facing a serious crisis of relational poverty. Throwing money at the problem won't solve it (although I beg of you to NOT stop giving - it is HUGELY IMPORTANT!) But next time you give money to support less fortunate kids, think about what else you can do. Can you spare some time to become "the person" (or even a person) in a child's life? When a kid has someone who cares enough about them to shoot some hoops, or play a video game or even talk to them, their situation may not be "fixed", but their life will be better. And so will yours.