The Teacher Appreciation Thread

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

As someone who hopes to have her own gaggle of kindergarteners (or first graders, second graders, third graders), I find this thread wonderful.

I go to school with alot of people who want to teach elementary school because they think it is easy or they want to play with the children. I am a former assistant in a 2nd grade classroom. I know it isn’t easy and I know it isn’t going to get easier.

But teachers change lives. They have the ability to make a difference. If you have the gift, you need to teach. If you are not called to do it, don’t do it…please.

My thanks go out to Miss Paine, my own kindergarten teacher who I remember pretty vividly. Mrs. Fisher who even in the 5th grade encouraged me to teach. And to Ms. Thomas, who was my bio prof, who thanked God when I told her I was going to teach.
[SIZE=5]**
IF YOU CAN…YOU TEACH!**[/SIZE]

22

Few careers are as important and yet so underappreciated.

I am married to a teacher, as some of you know. She is amazing with children, able to command their attention and get them organized, listening, co-operating. She can’t help but teach, because as she and other of her colleagues have stated, “Teaching isn’t what I do, it’s what I am.”

I am amazed at the dedication shown by teachers, especially in the face of unruly children, hostile parents and, in some cases, administrators and school boards that don’t back them up. Happily the latter is not the case in my wife’s school.

FriendBill is also a teacher, working in the same building as my wife. He’s a gentle, loving man who cares deeply about the children he teaches, and is given much love and respect in return. He’s the kind of teacher I wish my kids have every year.

I was influenced myself by teachers who opened up whole new worlds to me. Mrs. Schaible, in 10th grade teaching Macbeth and showing me the grandeur of Shakespeare. Mr. Cupples and Mr. Gerard, who taught music and helped me become a better, more mature artist. Miss Kaplan, the art teacher, who appreciated my cartoons and encouraged my creativity. Dr. Cogdill, from my college days, who told me flat out, “You can write!” He was so dear to both me and my wife, we named our first child after him.

My brother is a teacher, two of my brothers-in-law are teachers, and two of my sisters-in-law also teach.

Thank God for dedicated, hard-working teachers. They are invaluable.

23

DAVEW0071’s post reminded me of a college algebra professor I had. She told me I was not bad at math. I grasped the concepts easily and then put me in charge of some of the class tutoring. Up till then, I had thought I was horrible at math. But her little bit of confidence in me made all the difference. I still think about what she said and she will probably never know what an impact that little talk made.

24

Now that I am teaching adult students in a med tech training program, I can empathize with all teachers. My husband (pre-Mr. Beckwall) is a teacher, and has won many awards in his district. Man oh man, he works like a son of a bitch. And spends lots of his own money on supplies, classroom art and little trinket gifts for his 4th graders.

I am teaching 6 to 8 hours a day, and the prep time each night is almost always 3 or 4 hours. I write a lecture, make copies of handouts, make up quizzes, all the while trying to make this very dry subject come to life.

I just started teaching a month ago, and I’m still in the honeymoon phase. But I don’t blame anyone who claims teacher burnout - it’s the same with nursing, you do and do and do, and sometimes it works and sometimes it’s not enough.

Teachers are the rock stars (I mean that in a good way!) of the real world.

25

My teachers have changed my life. It burns me up when I hear criticism of teachers, and complaints about their “two months of vacation.”

So I’ll thank Mrs. Cadwell, my fifth grade teacher, for teaching me to stand up for what I believe in, and for knowing what I was capable of doing. Thanks to Mr. Cullen, my sixth grade computer teacher, who thought I was cool even though nobody else did. Thanks to Laura, one of my math and science teachers in seventh and eighth grade, for always pushing me onward and encouraging me. Deborah, who has been my a phys. ed and health teacher from 7th grade until my senior year in high school, who showed me that teachers can take their wisdom beyond school, and for knowing how important it is to be a friend as well as an educator. Thanks to Jon, my 9th grade math teacher, for showing that math could be cool, and thanks to Sally, who taught science that year, for making learning a fun experience. Thanks to Alyssa, who was never actually MY teacher, but who has inspired me and expanded the educational community beyond just her classroom.

There are more than that, even, but it’s kind of hard to name everyone. I’ve been lucky, I’ve had a lot of good teachers.

For the sake of clarity, in the school that I have attended for the past six years, teachers and students are all on a first name basis. I’ve had a few teachers whose last names I didn’t know. That’s kind of neat, too.