Love from a teacher

This prayer is for all of the teachers out there.  This is a prayer that I've been reading almost every morning to get me through the day.  After reading Jen's post about the question "why,"  all I kept thinking of was one of my students.  I only have this student for Religion and she doesn't particularly get along with me.  She never wants to be there and even more so doesn't want to believe in anything that I teach.  She's one of my biggest challenges.  She does well on tests, is a brilliant girl, but I cannot seem to reach her.  She admits not going to Mass and firmly stands by the fact that what we believe is "ridiculous." This is one of the places that I find God pulling me to answer her questions and truly bring her to him.  Unfortunately, he's also showing me that it's not always easy to love when you are frustrated. 
A TEACHER'S PRAYER
by Richard Peck OH GOD, I'M ONLY A TEACHER,
And it's lonely work because I'm the only member of my species in the room. I like kids. and l love my subject matter.
And I have higher hopes for thesc kids of mine than they have for themselves:
I want them to create. They want to consume.
I want them to love the world. They want the world to love them.
I want every day to be different. They want every day to be the same.
I want then to burn with zeal, about something. They want to be cool, about everything.
I want them to think. They want me to tell them.
I want the bell to ring. They want the bell to ring.
OH GOD. I'M A TEACHER,
I'm not their buddy. I don't want to be. I've seen what they do to their buddies.
I'm not their parent, and yet they'rc looking high and Iow for parents and can't seem to find them.
I'm their teacher. I don't want thcm to take me at my word. I want them to find the words.
OH GOD. I'M A TEACHER,
So I'm perfectly willing to move mountains, if you'll send me some hands for the end of my lever:
Send me a couple of administrators who care more about standards than they do about their jobs.
Send me the occasional parent who sees in me a colleague, not a scapegoat.
Send me a few kids every year, willing to brave their peers in order to learn.
OH GOD, I'M ONLY A TEACHER
I want to make bricks. Could you send me some straw?
Amen