My abuser used to threaten to kill me and my family for being a Spanish teacher. He said I was “part of the problem with this country” and was “just as bad as *them*.”
One time, my abuser and I were on a walk around where I lived at the time, which coincidentally was in the neighborhood of where I worked. On this walk, I saw some of my students. I was so happy and excited to see them and my abuser saw this and berated me for it. He would try to demean me, saying I had social problems and needed to be accepted and liked by a bunch of teenagers for my self-worth.
My abuser would say that was the #1 thing he hated about me, was that I was a Spanish teacher. In fact, one time he went off on a raging tangent about it to the point that I was sure he was going to murder me in that moment. All because I was a Spanish teacher.
And then I escaped my abuser.
And I survived.
And because I survived, I continue to have an impact.
I’m a good teacher. Not to toot my own horn, but I am. And I know I am because my students tell me I am. Their friends, who I’ve never had in class, tell me I’m a good teacher. Students walk away from minute-long interactions with me and I overhear them saying “I want her as a teacher next year.”
It was Thanksgiving last week and with that come a lot of gratitude activities. I personally received about a dozen “thank you for being incredible” letters from my students this year. And I’m saying that because it means the world to me. My students always tell me the same thing: a) that they learn in my class and b) that I make them feel welcome and comfortable and like they matter. And that is everything I could ever hope or ask for as a teacher.
I survived my abuser. The one who constantly degraded me for my career. And because I survived, I have had an impact on hundreds more students. And I hope to continue having an impact for as long as I can. Because what I do matters. And what I do is to make kids feel appreciated and like they matter, because they do.
My abuser could never, ever, take that away from me. No matter how hard he tried. No matter how much he threatened me. Because it’s just who I am. I love and care for others. And I’ve been blessed to make a pretty good career out of it.
And that’s something I am tremendously proud of.
Sarah's Story 