It's Teacher Appreciation Day, but in reality, it should be a whole month, not just a day. I have many teachers that made a difference in my life for different reasons. I had teachers that believed in me, when I didn't believe in myself. I had teachers that found ways to pull me out of myself, when I just wanted to hide and be alone. I had teachers that knew what I could do and wouldn't let me get away with anything less than my best. I had teachers that were a friend when I needed one the most. Those teachers are special people.
There are many teachers out there that are still like the men and women I just described. They care deeply for our children and losing even one is one too many. As much as we hate to admit it as parents, they see more of our children than we do. They shape the lives and minds of our children. Most parents are appreciative. However, there are many parents that do nothing more than beat down todays educators. In addition to those parents, there are men and women that have never set foot in a classroom beyond their own school days beating down our teachers also. Where does it stop? When did educating our children become a business? You can't run a classroom like a business. It won't work. Every child is different. Every child has different needs. Teachers need to be able to meet those needs and find ways to reach each child to give them the best education possible. They can't do that when they have to drill children over and over on a test. Not only does it not make any sense, but it also creates an entire generation of children with test anxiety. As adults, there are many tests in life that we take, but not like the ones in school. How is this test going to be a part of my child's life when he's in the workforce? It's not. I agree, that the occasional test should be required to gauge the skills that our children are learning, but standardized testing isn't the answer. There is no standardized way children learn. There never will be. The truth is, our children come in many different shapes. Trying to fit them all into a hole made for a square means that many will get left behind. That needs to change. If we must have standardized testing, then teachers need to be the ones writing the test, not businessmen and women who've not been in a classroom since they attended school. Only educators can best know what it is that our children need to learn. Give our educators the freedom to educate our children. There is not a test out there that should require the amount of time that we currently spend on prep. A week of review should be sufficient. Not CA after CA and Practice Test after Practice Test. I want to hear from my son what he actually learned in school, not that he had to take another CA. We have many wonderful educators out there that have the ability to reach our kids and teach them. We are allowing them to be chased away.
Stand up for our children by standing up for their teachers. Those men and women are on the front lines trying to educate and prepare our children for real life while at the same time trying to protect them from anything that could hurt them. They are the first line of defense for our children. Let's show our children's teachers that we do appreciate them. Every day, not just one day a year. Stand up for our educators. We need to be asking them what we can do to help them.
What can you do to appreciate a teacher today? What can you do to help a teacher today?
To all my teachers and my son's teachers,
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