"Teacher" is now my new favorite word

As an ESL teacher, I am used to students calling me “teacher”. I think it’s always interesting to be in a group of other ESL teachers, have a student approach us from behind, say “teacher”, and we all turn around to help - even if they are our student or not! I have learned that some students call us teacher because that’s who we are. Others say “teacher” because they can never remember our names or have difficulty pronouncing our names. I always feel so privileged to be called a teacher because I feel like it means I have something to offer, not just how to teach my students English, but general knowledge. Knowledge of the city, knowledge of our country, and knowledge to help students in their daily lives.

A new group of Cuban students arrived to our school and we have immediately bonded. It’s interesting because I haven’t taught them yet, just evaluated their English proficiency, but they still call me “profe” (Spanish for teacher). I have learned that they call me profe when they want to ask me something about school, but they also call me profe when we are joking around or talking about our lives with one another. Through these students, I now see that being a teacher, a profe, doesn't mean just giving knowledge or helping, it also means being a friend. I am honored to be a teacher because it means that I can also give friendship to my students.