Here’s to teacher who got your child this far
As June ushers in the close of another school year, summertime freedom has replaced lesson plans and homework, and family vacation planning will bump packed lunches and study guides. But though the final bell has rung in most schools, let’s share a thought or two about the teachers who teach our children.
I’m sure many parents are taking stock about how much their children have grown over the past academic year. Included in their reflection, no doubt, is the appreciation for teachers who expand and nurture emerging minds. Teachers know that knowledge transforms potential into reality. They’re charged with navigating the spectrum of student needs. Finding the unique key to unlock each individual mind is an art. Teachers not only encourage students to release untapped talents, they also accept the challenge of tough love when expectations for students are met with, shall we say, “an attitude.”
I remember with gratitude when my oldest daughter’s fifth-grade teacher sought to teach her students to be writers. Throughout the year, this educator pushed her students to expand expectations for themselves. Limericks, book reports, and self-illustrated anthologies lined the walls of the classroom. Through the teacher’s eyes, each student had the opportunity to feel accomplished and proud. My daughter, too, began to think of herself as a writer. Her talent not only flourished, she went on to become an English teacher so she could pay it forward to others.
Building a successful educational career begins with these elementary building blocks. Eyes are opened from the inside out. Encouraging each child to believe in her ability to learn and then designing a plan that can reach many varied minds is nothing short of amazing.
I appreciated even more when my son’s high school chemistry teacher gave him a zero on his senior final exam when my son thought skipping the morning session in order to bring donuts for the class would somehow charm the teacher into giving him a bye for the test. Well, she didn’t. My son squeaked by with an overall passing grade, but hopefully the lesson on that exam day transcended the knowledge of the Periodic Table. The teacher later told me the donuts were quite tasty anyhow.
Teachers not only educate, they encourage, challenge, mentor and are required to possess the stamina of an Iditarod sled dog. I love enough teachers to know the dedication to their students is all-encompassing. Certainly, the worldly benefits of teaching are quite underwhelming. I don’t think many enter the profession with the expectation of owning a second home in Tuscany. Teachers teach for the satisfaction of knowing they’re instilling a passion for reading, igniting a love for history, or opening young minds to the world through study of a new language. A good teacher can change the trajectory of any young person, and can even lift those in the midst of challenging circumstances at home. Teachers offer the realization that everyone can be in charge of their own destiny through education. And that is empowering.
I hope this summer allows some recharge time for the teachers among us. If my daughter, son-inlaw and sister were here, they’d remind us that professional obligations stretch well into the summer recess. Still, I wish them rest. As they take some deep breaths, I hope they know our gratitude fills the air around them.