If You Can Read This, Thank a Teacher

"World Teacher's Day is held annually on October 5 to celebrate the essential role of teachers in providing quality education at all levels."




Tomorrow is World Teacher Day.

I am a teacher. I used to think I made a difference.
Now I'm not so sure.

To profess you are a teacher in today's current political climate can bring on a heap of scorn.
People begin to pin labels on you:

You are overpaid,  You have too many union protections and perks.
You are under educated.
You are the reason Johnny can't read.
You are the reason our schools are failing, our kids are failing.

People claim that we are losing the race to the top.
It's the new space race, only this time we are experimenting with our most precious resource- our children.

Each day I walk by classrooms filled with every sort of child: the one trying to sleep because no one puts him to bed early enough, the child who needs constant redirection and attention because he has ADHD. The child with Intellectual Disabilities who now spends a full day struggling through grade level material, because the State believes he is better off in a class with his peers.

I see children come to school looking forward to eating two full meals, possibly the only real food they get each day. The child who is cold because her parents can't afford to get her a jacket. The coughing child who is sent to school because Mom needs to work or she will lose her job.

Imagine going to work and starting the day in a similar fashion. Would you be as productive?

The schools are failing because parents are often ill equipped to raise a child. Many parents want to do what's best for their child, but they don't know how.

Schools are failing because society is failing. Parents fail their children, and as a nation we fail our kids for not allowing community schools to nurture the child and support the parents. Instead we focus on our grand measuring stick: THE TEST. One test that gives us a mere snapshot of  a child's overall knowledge.

Teachers are not giving up. They are trying to find ways to inject fun and passion into the daily grind of Standards, curriculum maps and benchmark assessments.

Teachers equip your child's classroom with the essentials: notebook paper, copy paper, pencils, pens, learning games, books, folders, crayons, snacks, sometimes even toliet paper.

Teachers go to work an hour or even two hours earlier than they are "on the clock," and stay late for a conference, or to tutor your child. A teacher often spends her weekends writing lesson plans, gathering materials, making phone calls, grading papers.

A teacher often puts her own family behind "her kids" at school because she knows how much time and effort it takes to be an effective teacher. Her passion for her job shows in the way her face glows when a lesson goes well.

The health of our society could be measured by the quality of our educational system. Teachers are caring for a critically ill patient, but they won't give up fighting for your child's education.

My teachers were my heroes. They nurtured me, nudged me, and inspired me to be someone who makes a difference.

Tomorrow is World Teacher's Day. Take a moment to thank a teacher for making a difference in your life.