Teach. Love. Inspire.

Teachers. People who work tireless and endless hours, often unappreciated, trying to make a difference and educate those they instruct. I have had some pretty outstanding teachers in my life. Teachers who made me curious, who inspired me, who pushed me to my potential. Teachers hold a special place in my heart. Lord knows I could not do the job they do, and I spent my working days covered in blood, amniotic fluid and many other bodily fluids while being screamed at for epidurals. In all seriousness though, teachers are amazing human beings. And the great ones will stay with you forever having left their mark in your life. 

            Last year the ENTIRE state of West Virginia’s teachers went on strike. Fifty-five counties of teachers banded together and said enough is enough. West Virginia teachers are amongst the lowest paid teachers in the nation, something I could not even imagine. My son’s school is amazing. We love Ridgedale Elementary and we love the teachers. My son spent almost three weeks at home due to the strike last year. And you know what, that was ok, because those teachers deserved more. 

            Recently the teachers in my hometown in Washington state went on strike, delaying the start of the school year for them. Some of them are teachers I had, though most of them retired now. One of my friends wrote a beautiful post about her father, a teacher. He was one of my most memorable teachers in high school. She wrote about his sacrifices, his love for his job and his devotion to teach. That was obvious to those of us who were his students. One of my swim coaches was another influential teacher in my life. He pushed us, hard. He did not tolerate nonsense and he made sure we knew it. I am pretty sure I did my fair share of pushing his buttons, but it was all in good fun (love you Coach haha). It was because of amazing teachers that I went through the ‘Running Start’ program my Junior and Senior year of high school. A program that took me to the community college and provided me with the opportunity for free college education and credit hours. Without the encouragement of those influential teachers and my family I may not have even tried to do that. 

            Most of the time I see positive comments and support for teachers. However, there is always the frustrated, discouraged parents that want their kids back in school. I get it. I know it’s tough managing childcare, or having to do school work with your kids while they are out (that is what my son’s school required) but I ask you to think about these teachers. Think about the fact that they are with your children more than you are during the school year. And the fact that they often stay after hours making lessons plans, grading homework, etc. Often times teachers are responsible for the supplies they need for their classroom. If they don’t get enough donated where do you think the money comes from for their supplies? After school programs, who do you think volunteers or is asked to participate, coach, etc? TEACHERS. 

Teachers do not have glorious jobs. Let’s be honest, you’ve seen your kids having meltdowns, tantrums, etc from time to time (or in some cases more so). You know how challenging it can be when you are dealing with that. Now put yourself in a teachers shoes and endure that every day for eight or nine months out of the year. If every class is roughly 20-25 students, and every kid is allowed a bad day a month, that means that teacher is dealing with a bad day with at least one student EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. How would you handle it if your child was having meltdowns and tantrums EVERY. SINGLE. DAY? You’d probably ship them off to their grandparent’s house for the weekend and say ‘see ya Sunday!’ I know I would! 

Teachers are vital to our society. They answer a calling that a lot of us have no desire to. People say, ‘well they knew what they were signing up for when they went to school to be a teacher.’ Yes, you are correct. Like all of us, we know what we are getting into when we choose our respective career fields. Does that mean we do not want to be fairly compensated for our time and efforts? No. Support your teachers. Stand with them. Stand behind them. Because at the end of the day they are the ones who educate your child.