In October, my Teacher of the Year adventures took me to Notre Dame for the Excellence in Teaching Conference. My mom traveled with me, and it is a trip we will always remember, and I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity. Notre Dame in October was beautiful, and the speaker, Ann Anzalone, was fascinating. Everything she said made perfect sense, and I found myself asking why we still do things in education that we KNOW don't work.
Since then, I've traveled a good bit, talking with Teacher Cadets, Teaching Fellows, and some really awesome educators. I wanted to take a minute to tell you about one.
There's an internet meme going around that showcases what teachers think they do, what society thinks teachers do, what teachers' families think they do, etc. You can see it here, just in case you haven't already.
Our profession is definitely a unique one. Some people think we do this for summers off, for the "great" retirement or benefits, or for the easy hours. While we're at work, there are people who think we sing songs or make bulletin boards or read fun picture books all day. I say it all the time to Teacher Cadets or education major or underappreciated teachers, but people who follow that train of thought aren't worth the breath it would take me to argue with them. Teachers do so much more every single day.
I am fortunate because I have had some phenomenal teachers, and now, I know really great teachers that give it their all in their classrooms every single day. A few weeks before Christmas, one of my friends who teaches kindergarten at a local public school posted on her Facebook that one of her students was not going to have a Christmas. The child's mother has an illness that lands her in the hospital sporadically, so holding a job isn't an option for her. My friend, her teacher, had a business who said they would sponsor the child for Christmas, but a few weeks before the holiday, they said they couldn't. Many people would have been upset, and that would have been the end of it. They might have tried to get a few things for the child and called it a day, but remember, my friend is a TEACHER. A teacher who didn't enter the profession for money, or vacation, or retirement, or accolades. She became a teacher because her heart is the size of Texas. She became a teacher because a child not having gifts to open at Christmas wasn't an option for her. So she did what many of us do, she went to Facebook, and simply let people know the situation. According to her, gifts came pouring in. Additionally, her student had always wanted to be a Girl Scout, but that costs money. Money that the little girl's family didn't have. Again, her teacher wrote a letter to the Girl Scout headquarters, explaining the situation, and they donated a "scholarship" to her...all because her teacher cared. My husband and I gave a few gifts to help out, and this week, we got the most precious card that my friend and the little girl had made with pictures of her opening her gifts. I was immediately so thankful that God had placed both of them in that classroom in August. I am convinced that they needed each other, and that's the way it is for so many of us and our kids.
As teachers, we play many different roles, but none of them are as important as the role we play as people who care about kids. Whether it's as big and noteworthy as making sure they have Christmas, or as simple as making sure they get a smile or a positive word from us in a day, we are important. We can't ever forget that or let anything diminish it.
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