Teachers

Good day to you reading this column on Teachers and their role in our lives.

Take a moment and just think where you might be without teachers, those beacons of light, who have guided your pathways in learning and challenged your mind to thoughts that may have never crossed your mind.

Did a teacher or teachers define your success in life? Let me tell you a story about a dinner party where the guests were sitting about the table, having dessert and discussing life.

One of the guests, a prominent CEO in the community, brought up the topic about education and why be a teacher? The CEO, in a condescending tone, asked, “What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life is to become a teacher.” This CEO wanted everyone to know the greater importance of being a CEO of a large corporation, his stature and the vast amount of money he made holding that title.

As the CEO boastfully finished, he turned to Carol, a teacher and asked her in front of all to be honest and tell us what you make?

Carol, taking a deep breath and looking at the CEO, replied, “You want to know what I make?” She paused for a second, and looking straight at the CEO replied:

“Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I make a C+ feel like the Congressional Medal of Honor winner. I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can’t make them sit for 5 minutes without an I Pod, Computer Game or movie rental.

You want to know what I make?” (Carol paused again as she panned the crowd at the table.

I make kids wonder.
I make them question.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.
I teach them to write and then I make them write. Keyboarding isn’t everything.
I make them read, read, read.

AND

I make them show all their work in mathematics. They use their God given brain, not the man-made calculator.
I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know about English while preserving their unique cultural identity.
I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.
I make my students stand, placing their hand over their heart to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag, One Nation Under God, because we live in the United States of America.

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given, work hard, and follow their hearts, they could succeed in life.

(Carol took a deep breath and continued.) “Then, when people try to judge me by what I make, with me knowing money isn’t everything, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant…. You want to know what I make? I MAKE A DIFFERENCE. What do you make Mr. CEO?

The CEO’s jaw dropped, he went silent.

Our world, as we know it, has been turned upside down with ways that we used to conduct business will be no longer, people shaking hands and hugging will become a thing of the past, social gatherings will be minimal and children playing with children at home or on the school playground, how will that be affected?

How will teachers be affected and what will be the role of the parents in teaching the child and helping with homework? Teachers, in the past, did not entertain your child while you were at work, they taught your child the basics or fundamentals to prepare them for the future.

Teachers nurtured students, listened to their problems, and spent 8 plus hours of their lives to prepare that child for the rest of his life. Compare their salary to a sports player, CEO of a corporation, leading actor or actress, big time musician or band, long time politician and measure the time they spent to nurturing your child and the amount of money they earned while teaching your child.

Who are the “REAL HEROES”? If you are a teacher, I ‘m sure you’re not in this profession for the fortune and glory. As a parent, do you lie about why your child is absent? Do you make excuses for why your child did not do his work? Do you complain about what we do? Do you swear at staff members? Do you want us to raise your child? Do you request another teacher, for the third time this year? Do you complain about bus transportation or school lunches? And, do you ask why you didn’t get information that was already enclosed in your newsletter and several flyers mailed to you?

Teachers help parents train up a child in the way he or she should go, and when he or she is old, they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6 (NIV) And, fathers, do not irritate your children; but educate them in discipline and knowledge of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4 (FF).

Turn with me to Proverbs 5:11-13(NIV) At the end of your life you will groan, when your flesh and your body are spent. You will say, “How I hated discipline! How my heart spurned correction! I would not obey my teachers or listen to my instructors.

Folks, we have a daughter in the family who has been blessed with the talent of teaching your students—Please remember teachers in our prayers and lift them up in all times. These are the folks who should be paid royally and thanked on a daily basis for they are molding our children 8+ hours daily with limited funds and hands tied behind their backs with discipline issues.

May God Bless you, your family and our first responders in these days and always May You Bless God, as He Blesses You.