The hardest part of teaching is being present. Truly, deeply present.
The hardest part isn’t grading the essays. It isn’t selecting, teaching, and honing the right octavos for festival. It isn’t preparing a masterful lesson on the quadratic formula.
The hardest part is being present – truly, deeply present for your students, each and every day.
Not coincidentally, this is also the most important part of teaching. When you’re present – truly, deeply present – every day for your students, they will be present for you. They will be present for the material you teach, and they will be present with their own lives.
Incredibly rewarding, gratifying in the long-term, and the hardest part of teaching.