The first day of preschool or kindergarten is a seminal moment for both parents and children alike. Marking the beginning of the transition toward independence, it can result in separation anxiety.

When we dropped off our eldest at preschool, we prepared for the worst, but my son barely turned around to smile and wave goodbye. When we picked him up at the playground, his teacher, Julie, called for him. He saw our faces, let out a yell, and began to cry. Julie looked at us a bit panicked. He raced toward us and sputtered through the tears, “I don’t want to go home!” We all laughed and knew it was the beginning of a wonderful relationship with his amazing new teacher and school.

As I write this, my eldest is completing his final days in high school. His experience has been anything but typical, but he’s been fortunate to have had at least one teacher who broke through all the noise. She recognized his love of literature and would regularly go out of her way to send extra information after class about an author or a book via email.

When I think about my own secondary experiences, I would credit my friends Katy and Don as integral in my experience, but I’m not sure I would have survived high school had it not been for my English teacher, Mr. Flickinger. I remember botching my first speech in his class. I stared in horror at my classmates, completely frozen and beet-red, for what felt like an eternity. It was awful.

But Mr. Flickinger didn’t see me as a lost cause. He took me aside after class and walked me through how to deal with such moments — and I aced my next speech. From that moment on, I hung on his every word in class. Mr. Flickinger saw something special in me; he told me he knew I was capable of more than I thought I was. He pushed me to work harder, and I developed confidence to express and defend ideas in his class.

As we approach the end of the school year, I’ve found myself thinking about Mr. Flickinger — and all teachers across the nation. This time of year is typically a time to celebrate — with courses winding down, seniors getting ready to graduate, and teachers and students look forward to summer break.

But given what’s happened in the last few weeks, and frankly over the last few decades, what do teachers have to celebrate? A survey conducted by the National Education Association revealed that 90% of members report feeling burned out, and 55% say they plan to leave the profession sooner than they had planned due to the pandemic.

But surely, the pandemic is just the final blow. For years, teachers have been overworked, undervalued, and underpaid. We task our teachers with not only teaching and caring for our children but also with being surrogate parents, social workers, and police officers. But that isn’t enough. Now we expect them to be soldiers and potentially lay down their very lives.

Whether it be teaching during a pandemic that we know isn’t over or continuing to teach in a country that has failed to protect teachers and students from school gun violence, teachers show up, not for money, not for fame, and certainly not for repeated emails from parents like me.

As a parent, I know I can be a thorn in the side of many teachers. So please, allow me say this:

For all the teachers who stay up late planning lessons to keep their students engaged, thank you.

For the teachers who have inadequate budgets and use their personal funds, I see you.

For the teachers, who have extra snacks or gym clothes in their closet for the student who never has them, bless you for filling their belly and trying to make them feel “normal.”

I apologize to all the teachers who must work other jobs because we fail to pay you like the professionals you are. You train future doctors, future attorneys, future professors, future presidents, and we fail to pay you enough to make your profession as “desirable” as others.

Thank you for doing continuing education to always stay on top of your craft. Can you imagine other professions having to take courses regularly to maintain their jobs?!?

Thank you for always being so diplomatic when you receive the many, many emails and calls from parents.

Thank you for finding ways to continue teaching, even when we continue to take away the very books you need to teach.

Finally, thank you for loving our children, for encouraging them, for raising the bar, for helping them to find confidence, and for always believing in their capacity to learn.

May they grow up to do better by you than we have. You’ve more than earned it.

Hilary Koch lives in Waterville. She can be reached at: hilarykoch@pm.me

 

 

 

 

 

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