Dear Students, We’re Only Human

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Being a teacher—what a sophisticated occupation, don’t you think? Transferring knowledge, shaping minds, guiding students in countless ways, and even acting as second parents. It’s a huge responsibility, one that should never be taken lightly.

And being a teacher often feels like striving for perfection. Students look up to you, as do their parents—and maybe even the government (if they ever paid attention to our underfunded education system, haha). You’re expected to be fair, consistent, neither too strict nor too lenient, resourceful, wise... the list goes on.

I had this thought while grading my students’ weekly essays. One essay wasn’t bad, and I gave it a B-. But then I flipped to the student’s previous work and realized it was of similar quality—yet I had given it an A+. I paused, thinking, Why am I so inconsistent?

This isn’t the only time I’ve noticed such discrepancies. There was a time I disciplined one student harshly for a mistake, but when another student made the same error, I let her off with a warning. It wasn’t favoritism; it just... happened.

In theory, I love all my students equally and strive to treat them fairly and objectively. But in practice, so many factors influence how I act—my mood, the situation, or even just how my day has been. Sometimes, I’m stricter; sometimes, I’m more lenient. And sometimes, I manage to strike the right balance.

So, to my students—and all students out there—I want to say this: We’re only human. We make mistakes—more than we’d like to admit. I know it might seem like we don’t like you, or we’re not fair or consistent, and you’re not completely wrong. But trust me, we’re trying.

Thank you for being patient with us, and thank you for being our students. Love you all.





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