Part of Something Larger

 I've been teaching about the history of NASA this week, and I was reminded of this story from 1962.  John F. Kennedy was touring what would later be called the Kennedy Space Center, and he introduced himself to a man carrying a broom.  "What do you do here?" he asked this man who was clearly a maintenance worker.  "I'm helping put a man on the moon, Mr. President," was his reply.  This man understood that he was making a contribution larger than himself.  In order for NASA to exist, someone had to empty trashcans and sweep up messes and unclog toilets, and the million other things janitors do to keep a building in operation.

The longest-lasting architectural project ever undertaken was the construction of the Cologne Cathedral in Germany.  Construction began in 1248 and was not completed until 1880.  While there were years where no work was done, that's 632 years from start to finish (continuously for the first 200 of them).  Imagine how little progress a mason must have felt he was making while laying bricks in those first few years.  He wouldn't see the spires rising into the sky, drawing people's attention upward as they worshipped the Creator.  He wouldn't have seen the incredible stained glass windows that communicate Bible stories to people who couldn't read.  He would not have seen the heavy doors through which people would pass into this artistic masterpiece.  He would have seen the bottom few layers of stone and needed faith to recognize that he was part of something bigger than just his part.  Generations of bricklayers and glass makers and lumberjacks and artisans would be a part of this massive construction.

As teachers, we have to hold this same mindset.  While it may not be on the scale of a Moon landing or a gothic cathedral (or who knows, maybe it is - someone taught those people too), we are making a contribution to the lives of students and their families and the other people they influence.  We are not, however, the only ones involved in this building project.  They had teachers before me and will have teachers after me.  They have family members and church workers and scout leaders and friends participating in the building of their lives.  We may not be able to see the people they will eventually become, but if we recognize we are part of something larger than ourselves, we will make decisions differently.  We will do our work with excellence when we recognize the foundation we are laying for someone else to build on.  

Keeping that in mind might help you persevere when grading gets tiring and lesson plans feel tedious.