in the cloud

HEADLEE: But for the teachers who were there, new teachers or not, who are experiencing what you call the disillusionment phase as we speak, who are listening to your voice now, what do you say to the teacher crying in his or her car after school today?

ELDEN: First of all, you have to hang in there because you have to know that it’s that time of year. And also, it helps to know I think, the great teachers of the future know they’re not great yet. They want so badly to be everything that these students need them to be, but at the same time they are very hard on themselves when they fall short. So if you have those moments where you’re wondering - like what I wondered was, you know, how did these teachers get - these kids get stuck with a teacher like me, that can actually be a sign of kind of a point in your growth. It’s a low point that it still points in becoming a teacher that you hope to be.