About 250 high-school kids came to Chico State University Wednesday to explore what could be their future.

The students from high schools as far north as Redding and as far south as the Yuba City-Marysville area were on the campus to take part in the eighth annual "Celebrate Teaching Conference," sponsored by the university's department of education.

One of the first things the students were told was teaching is about much more than simply transmitting information.

Mary Edwards, a sixth-grade teacher at Little Chico Creek School and the event's keynote speaker, told her young audience that teaching is about a lot more than lessons.

Edwards, who has been teaching for 14 years, said she asked some of her sixth-graders and some third-graders in a colleague's class to identify the attributes of a good teacher.

Her sixth-graders said, as kindergartners, they remembered their teachers as "kind" and they also remembered "nap time."

"They liked teachers who would help their work, and if you know anything about kindergartners, they need a lot of help," said Edwards, who grew up in Durham and attended school there.

Third-graders cited attributes they wanted to see in their teachers.

"They wanted somebody intelligent, somebody who smiles, somebody who is funny, somebody respectful, somebody cool, who did funny things; somebody who didn't yell, somebody who was not mean, somebody with good handwriting so they could read what she wrote on the board; and somebody who is not greedy."

Sixth-graders wanted teachers "who encourage me, who are understanding, when we have a problem they help, nice but firm," and individuals who don't always teach from the book.

Even with all this advice from her pupils, Edwards said teaching is still much more.

"Teaching isn't about giving kids the answers. It's about making them solve the problems," she explained.

Choosing to become a teacher is about other things as well.

"In this day and age, you need a passion for teaching," she told her youthful audience.

She said her greatest success comes in getting her pupils to "want to learn," but her most severe challenge is the youngster who remains closed to her.

"There are kids I cannot reach. I've got one right now. He just won't learn from me. He just won't," she explained.

In that case, sometimes the appropriate option is to have the child transferred to another class where another teacher might find a way to make contact.

"Mostly, you just have to keep trying. It is definitely a challenge, and it's heartbreaking when you cannot reach them," she said.

If there is heartbreak in being unable to reach a student, Edwards said there is another end of the emotional spectrum, when the teacher makes a life-changing contact.

Edwards said a math teacher at Durham High School, who she did not name, was that inspiration to her the teacher who put her feet on the path to her present profession.