OPEN LETTER TO TODAY'S TEACHERS

You Are Loved. Sincerely, US

Dear Teachers,

I’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT YOU.

Although February is suppose to be a fun month full of love, it was always a rough one for me. By Valentine’s Day, I was exhausted. It felt as if everyone was stomping on the one carnation I got. Ha! My seniors were definitely suffering from senioritis. I’m not sure they even cared about graduating anymore; they just wanted to get out of town. Their parents, on the other hand, had a difficult time letting them go, suffocating all of us with “Oh, they’ll always be our babies.”

And just when I scheduled a great lesson or a field trip that I thought would inject some enthusiasm into the kids, we’d have a snow delay demanded by the weatherman, some goofy assembly requested by the community, or a surprise visit from the drug dogs planned by the the police. One February, I actually counted the number of days I had students in class — yep, 8. And people wondered why our test scores were low.

I’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT YOU

— waking up before the crack of dawn to have time with your own family

— tutoring kids after school who need extra help

— paying for your own supplies

— raising money for the Boosters

— attending another state-mandated meeting

— doing playground and bus duty

— giving a kid your lunch

— putting up with parents who think they know more than you

— adapting your class for students who just can’t get it

— turning your cheek when a colleague whispers behind your back

— taking more college classes

— crying for a neglected child

— grading stacks of papers

— jiggling on one foot because you don’t have time go to the bathroom

I’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT YOU

and I bet someone else — somewhere — has been too.

“Hello”

“Mrs. Stoneburner? You may not remember me, but I was in your class about twenty years ago.”

“Of course, I remember you. I still remember all of those crazy team building exercises we did out on the football field one day. How are you?”

“I’m fine. I was thinking about you today and wanted to thank you for all you did for me. I’m a prison guard down south now. I know you probably thought I’d be the one in prison someday. (Laughter) But I’m actually the head of an educational program for inmates down here. I’m using everything you taught me. We take inmates into high schools to talk to kids, and they try to tell them not to follow in their footsteps.”

“Oh, that sounds awesome. I’m so proud of you!”

“Well, I better go. I just stepped outside the gym for a second to call you. I wanted you to know you made a difference in my life.”

We think you’re AWESOME!

Happy Valentine’s Day! (Hope you get lots of carnations.) xoxo

It’ll Be OK.

~~~

“Teaching: where every day is like a game of ‘Whack-a-Mole,’ but the moles are all armed with smart phones and TikTok accounts.” ~ sandjest.com