Touch a Life

Thirty Days of Thankfulness, Day 10

Did you have a favorite teacher when you were in school?  I did.  Actually, I had several.  In high school, my favorites were my English teacher, my Genetics teacher, and my Choir teacher.  In elementary school, my favorite was my fifth grade teacher.  These teachers weren't my favorites because they let their classes horse around and do next to nothing; they were my favorites because they taught me something-they challenged me and made me work for my grades.  I was excited to go to school every day, ready to face whatever challenges my teachers gave me.


I know that all children don't view school this way.  In fact, prior to having my own children I taught third grade at a charter school in Flint, Michigan.  I was given a class of eight and nine year old children who couldn't read.  It wasn't that they couldn't read well, they couldn't read.  They knew their letters, and a few sight words, but putting a book in front of them and telling them to read wasn't happening.  The most difficult part of teaching these kids wasn't their illiteracy.  The worst part was that they came to school every day hungry.  For at least sixty percent of my class, the lunch they received daily was their only meal of the day.  And it wasn't because their parents didn't want to feed them, it was because they couldn't.  Bathing and general hygiene was a big issue, too.  Here I was, just barely out of college, not only teaching these kids how to read and write, but I also had to give lessons on how to brush teeth, and wash their bodies, and clean their clothes.  I brought increasingly more food to school so I could send something home with those that needed it most.  I became like a mother to thirty kids who needed more than they were getting.


My kids aren't in the situation that a lot of kids across America are.  They have what they need, and then some.  Everyday, I send my kids off to school.  They spend the majority of their days with people who aren't their parents.  My children are entrusted to their teachers.  It's a normal thing, isn't it, to send our kids to school?  But if you really think about it, we are sending our babies to learn from strangers.  These strangers become our friends, though. They care about our children as if they were their own.  The teach them reading and writing, they do science experiments and make fun treats with them. They teach them manners and respect. They laugh with them and they cry with them.  They go home to their own families every night, but still have our children on their minds.  And I know, even when teachers have horrible days personally, they still face their classrooms with warm smiles and helping hands.

It's that time of year again: Parent/Teacher Conferences.  Jason and I made the rounds last night and spoke with all of our kids' teachers.  If I'm being honest with you, I have to tell you that I love conferences.  I meet all of the teachers during a mass open house during the first week of school, when hundreds of parents are shuffling their children through multiple classrooms in as little time as possible to get out of the schools that are always at last twenty degrees too warm.  Conferences occur at the end of the first marking period when teachers have had a chance to get to know their students and can offer reassurance that a child is on track, or guidance on how to get them there.   We always end up with the last time slots of the night, due to Jason's work schedule and I know it's a long day for the teachers.  It sure is refreshing, that even at 8:00 at night, the teachers are there with a smile and a handshake and take all the time we need to make sure that we get a detailed report of our child and that we also get all of our questions answered, without being rushed.


Another reason I love conferences is, that while I wait, I get to see projects the students have been working on.  I love to see the creativity and diversity in their work.  This is an election year, as we all know, and the hallways were lined with patriotic and presidential themed work.  There's something about second graders.  They're right on the verge of "getting it" but they still have the innocence and purity of children that I love so much.  They are beginning to realize that there is more to the world than just themselves, but they aren't quite aware of exactly how big the world is.

I took some pictures of some of the work on the walls last night.  The subject was, "If I were president, I would..."  Take a look at what some of these students had to say:

If I were president, I would be respectful of the earth and never tell lies.

If I were president, I would give poor people 100 dollars.

If I were president, I would be responsible for my country.

If I were president, I would make cookies for my neighbors.

If I were president, I would be responsible for each and every person in the U.S.A.

If I were president, I would feed homeless people.

If I were president, I would let everyone do what they wanted to do but not speed.

Homeless.  Poor.  Responsibility.  Neighbors.  Truth.  Respect.  These children have been taught was is most important in this world-that we take care of those around us and treat them the way we want to be treated.  I know that these ideas start at home, but our teachers play a big part, too.  Our teachers back up what we teach our children, and they introduce new dreams and ideas that we have never discussed at home.

I hope my children, and yours, are always surrounded by great teachers.  I want my children to learn, but I also want my children to be inspired.  I want them to be excited to go to school every day and I want them to come home with stories and memories of amazing days.  Thank you to all of you amazing teachers out there who fill my kids' days with love and laughter and learning.