Over the many years that I have taught I have seen one fact that is always constant. TEACHERS

When the lights go out for the day they move into the halls or to the nearest window and TEACH.

When computers go down and all the technology stops because of some catastrophe they TEACH.

When there are no books they buy their own and share with the students and TEACH.

When the buses get stuck and half the class is late they TEACH the ones that are there.

When half the class is absent because of a flu outbreak, they TEACH the students that are there and then have to do it again when the others return.

When the heat goes off they put on coats and gloves and open their books and TEACH.

When the heat is unbearable they take their classes outside and sit under the trees and TEACH.

When the principal leaves, they don’t know, because they are too busy TEACHING.

When the bells fail to ring they keep TEACHING.

That’s their job and they love it, it’s a passion and they make their administrators look mighty good. If your test scores are up it is because of your teachers.

Just like the district the teachers bills have gone up, their transportation costs are up, their food costs are up, their heat and electricity is up etc. etc. But unlike other industries their salaries are low.

Teachers are the backbone of the education system. They are the ones that are on the front lines of the war against ignorance. They are not only required to teach core subjects they are expected to teach citizenship, responsibilities, manners, cleanliness, safety from all the bad things of the world and each year more responsibilities are shifted from the home to the school system. The compensation they receive in comparison to their responsibility is pitiful. But dispite the pitiful compensation they keep teaching because they love kids.

Your teachers deserve a break, not a little break, but a big break. They need adequate compensation for all they do. They are the bottom line and are the ones that accomplish the goal of a district. They TEACH.

C.S. Mackay
www.ezeducationplays.com/articles.html