You defeat me kids...Letter from a teacher - 2

I must admit that the worst moments in my class come when I stand firm, correcting a child. I hate everything that goes on between us, around us, the cause, the consequence, everything. But yet I do out of my instinct and as a part of my responsibility as a teacher. Kid is a kid is a kid. Still, she needs correction. I know, but I hate to be the one who does it.
I was contemplating much on quitting this job not only for this reason, but for many other things that happens in the classrooms and schools in the state and in the country. I wonder if my personality suits this profession and moreover, if I will find anything positive to continue being a teacher.
The subject knowledge or your ability to control a class or the salary that you get; none of these reasons are enough to be a teacher. You cannot continue it just because kids like you or your class or want you to be their teacher. The reason to be a teacher is beyond all what you do or students do in the class.
In my confusion, I was sure that I will get my answers on the way. So I continued my profession this year too, as a teacher. The academic year starts only when the teacher makes sure that all her students have come to the right track of learning and behaviour. The hectic first months of putting them on track always make me feel exhausted. Yet I do it as otherwise the class will run like a marathon, with many quitting the race. It takes so much of effort to make sure that they all have been trained to complete the race almost in the same speed and time.
A teacher is a gardener. No plant in the garden knows why the gardener takes his garden tools and cuts and digs and waters. Everything that he does makes each plant look tended and healthy. Faith in my gardening skills kept me going for so many years as a teacher. When I take my tools in my hand, my students call me a terror and in their flowering seasons they give me the sweetest smile to tell me that they judged me wrong.
I must say that nothing is easy these days because of the pollution that has come to the society. The kids are running on a slushy track. Their targets are so far and so high. Their strength and stamina decrease over the years due to pressure and problems that are too big for them to handle. Making them run, or watching them run, is no fun.  A teacher can just be a companion to help them finish their race.
What am I, a teacher, at the end? A carrier who transports the kids to the final exam halls? I have no answers yet. I even started telling my colleagues to do something else in life, if possible. I fail to find a good reason to be a teacher.
With these thoughts running in my mind, I continue doing my work as always. Yesterday, as I came out of my class, a few students followed me with their assignment, some with their best smiles, some with their sober eyes...the kids who I corrected the previous day... They needed my unconditional acceptance.  
It wasn’t that reason which melted my heart and made me smile. It was their innocent way of trying to get an approval from me. Only a child can do it and only the innocence can make her do it.
Another defeating moment of life. I stood defeated before their innocent expressions and innocent acting. I was happy to be defeated. After all, I believe ‘Love never fails’ and it is found the maximum in an innocent heart of a child.
I found a reason to continue being a teacher; to learn from my students. Thank you kids for showing me the power of innocence and being your humble student is the best thing that has ever happened in my life as a teacher.