Teachers

I just spent 7 consecutive Friday afternoons working on an art project with students in grades 3-6 at a local public school. While I was in the trenches for only these few days, their teacher was there every school day. This, of course, meant teaching. But it also meant collecting materials, managing their use by students, planning classes, attending meetings, working with volunteers, providing structure in the classroom, working within budgets, knowing each student and above all caring for each student and their progress no matter the behavior of the student. And I know there are many other duties missing from my list.

Teachers have to be adept at knowing what reasonable expectations they can have for their students, helping students meet them and helping students exceed them. They need to find time to help the serious students while the disruptive ones suck up time and attention. And how to turn the disruptive ones into serious ones. They need to know how to dispense discipline and praise fairly.

Theirs is a physically and emotionally demanding job. We need to spend less time as a culture on celebrities, entertainers and athletes. These may visit a school, read a book, get media attention, but the teachers are then left in the dust. 

Put a teacher on a pedestal. Today.