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Health & Fitness

28 Days of Gratitude: Day 14... I am grateful for our teachers.

Nov. 14th - I am thankful for teachers.

This week we had parent-teacher conferences at my daughters’ school. The time of the year when school is dismissed a bit earlier, schedules are all afflux, and parents squeeze into tiny size chairs across from their child’s teacher to hear how they are progressing.

I look forward to these conferences – to hearing how the girls are doing, and what we need to work on. Both of my daughters have wonderful teachers. I know this because they spend the majority of their day teaching them how to read, write, add, subtract, comprehend, sing, play an instrument, follow directions, listen, hold a pencil correctly, how to make a mistake and be okay with it, how to kick a ball, how to parler français. But it’s so much more than that.

These teachers truly care about their students. I can only speak about our experiences at preschool and elementary school, but have a feeling the teachers in all of the schools in our town are just as caring.  My daughters have been blessed to have wonderful and caring teachers. Each night at dinner we ask the girls how school went today. They are excited to share with us what they are learning. They get a sparkle in their eye when they talk about school- and it’s the teachers who make all the difference. They make learning fun, and enjoyable. They care about them as an individual, and it shows. They also communicate with us parents through emails and class bogs to make sure we are up to date with what the class is learning.

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I think it truly takes a special kind of person to be a teacher. It’s not just about knowing how to teach, but wanting to teach. You are kind, patient and loving. To OTHER people’s kids. Five days a week. Doesn’t matter if you have a headache or an off day. There are no off days. You have that special “it” quality. You work harder than most adults because let’s face it… a child is hard work. TWENTY children in one room is well, harder. And loud. And getting 20 little people to actually pay attention to you without having to yell and scream at the top of your lungs, because, well you are a teacher and not their mother, can be nearly impossible. I have volunteered in each of the girls’ classes from kindergarten through fifth grade, as well as preschool, and I can honestly say these teachers have “it”.  (I taught one year of preschool music, and spent much of that time reminding little ones to please take their fingers out of their noses.)

Two of my favorite teachers growing up were Mr. Riley and Mrs. Kenny. Riley was my fourth grade teacher. He was fun and made every day an adventure. I remember one day in particular. We were getting rowdy and not paying attention. We were wound up as my grandfather liked to say. It was the mid-70’s and séances were very popular. We would take turns trying to lift each other up while repeating something stupid over and over. It never worked, but we had fun trying. Anyhow, we must have been talking about them all day, because Mr. Riley had us all move our desks to the side of the room, and form a circle standing up. Then he asked us to hold hands. He shut off the lights and we tried to do a scence. Nothing happened of course, but we got it out of our system, and went back to our regular school work. (I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t happen today…)

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Mrs. Kenny was my favorite high school teacher. She was the one who encouraged me to write, and suggested I study journalism in college. She critiqued my writing, but praised it as well. She was tough, but fair. She helped me believe in myself, and push myself.  

One of my favorite quotes by Forest Witcraft, sums up perfectly how important a teacher truly is:

"One Hundred Years From Now"

One hundred years from now
It won't matter
What kind of car I drove
What kind of house I lived in
How much money I had in the bank
Nor what my cloths looked like
BUT
The world may be a little better
Because, I was important
In the life of a child.

My girls are truly blessed. They have wonderful teachers who love them and care about them. How lucky they are. I don’t think we can ever say “thank you” enough to our teachers. They deserve all of our gratitude.

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