Irreplaceable

Almost 14 years ago I became a counselor, nurse, mother, and teacher all in one day. It was my first day of teaching. It was me and 22 third graders staring at each other for a few minutes. Then it hit me — they’re waiting for you to give them direction! I learned that day that nothing I had been taught in college could have ever prepared me for what I had walked into.

That year and for the next ten I spent hours planning, attending inservices, shopping for my kiddos and growing. Heck I even dragged my friends to my classrooms on weekends for the next big project my class would be working on. I learned so much in my ten years as a classroom teacher that the moment my own two boys started school I knew I wanted to do everything and anything I could to help their teachers. Throughout the school year we write them little notes, send them things we know might brighten their day and look them in the eye and say “THANK YOU!” After all they spend more time with my Ryan and Chase during the week than daddy and I do.

This week, teachers across the country will hopefully be bombarded with sweet surprises, gift cards and flowers. For one week out of the year our society takes time to celebrate those individuals who have the gift of teaching. Yes it is a gift not a job. And it is a gift that deserves more than just a week of appreciation.

You see in our classrooms throughout the RGV are teachers who have put aside all the negative generalizations others have made about them and their profession – “Oh, you’re just a teacher, anyone can do that.” “How does it feel to get 3 months off in the summer?” “At least you get to go home at 4 everyday”. They push those comments aside and continue to shape and mold our children. For many of them it is never just “an 8 hour workday with an hour lunch.” It is a day filled with much more than reading, writing, math, science and social studies. It is a day that sometimes begins with trying to stop the tears from something that happened at home. Other days it involves trying to track down extra school supplies or clothing for kids that have none. Asking colleagues to donate winter clothing to help their students who have none when they know a cold front is coming in.  Trying to get them more food or snacks at lunch because they are still hungry and hungry minds make learning difficult. At times it involves hugs and consoling after recess because of something someone told them out on the playground. All while trying to keep their own households and children under control.

It takes a special person to build relationships with their students and make them feel like they can accomplish anything. As Dalton Sherman said during his back to school address to 20,000 teachers: “Here’s the deal: I can do anything, be anything, create anything, dream anything, become anything — because you believe in me, and it rubs off on me…. In some cases, you’re all we’ve got.”

Truth from the mouth of babes. So yes, gift cards and surprises this week are wonderful but let’s not forget these other things year round:

Teachers matter. Their voice matters. Your support matters.

Lastly to the teachers I have the privilege of working with on a daily basis maintain the hope, keep celebrating the success and keep leading our students to great things.