Thank a teacher

by Tom Campbell, Executive Producer and Moderator, NC SPIN, May 7, 2015.

Everyone can remember one or more teachers who had a significant impact on their life. During Teacher Appreciation Week we should recognize and be grateful to them, but thanking our teachers is more than just raising their pay, as many repeatedly suggest.

Teaching is a calling and those entering the profession do so because of a love of children and learning. They enter the classroom to mold and inspire students to love reading, appreciate history, solve math and science problems learn geography and discover how to think for themselves. Problem is, we burden these dedicated professionals with tasks that erode their passion for teaching.

Would we ask scientists to administer medications, carpenters to fill out volumes of paperwork, lawyers to stand bus or lunchroom duty, dry cleaners to deal with discipline problems or auto mechanics to attend countless meetings? We ask teachers to take large chunks of time away from what they love, insisting they abide by a litany of rules and regulations somebody somewhere thought was a good idea and it is wonder that the reason we need so many teacher workdays is because of paperwork requirements and meetings.

No matter how well intentioned the concept might have been we mainstream too many special needs students. Yes, they deserve to be educated appropriately also, but in far too many cases they sap the energy and attention from teaching. Many good teachers report they cannot be as effective as they would like because they focus far too much time on a few at the expense of the rest of the class.

Let our teachers teach! And let us insist our principals and administrators support and do everything possible to encourage them, including defending them when parents and students are unreasonable.

To be sure we must expect accountability but we’ve gone over the cliff with testing; in many instances the teacher doesn’t even see individual test results until the school year is over or it is too late to do reinforce learning. Clearly established standards coupled with a few well-designed and accredited tests should show their results, but if you really want to know how effective a teacher is ask the parents. They know. Ask the principal. If he or she doesn’t know, they need replacing.

It wasn’t too many years ago when the teacher was respected as much as the preacher, the doctor and other professionals. As a result of test results we don’t like, problems we encounter and a few poor teachers the whole profession has become the whipping boy instead of the lawmakers, bureaucrats, administrators or even parents who are also culpable. Teachers are the front line in the education system but it is neither fair nor reasonable to disproportionately blame them. Few of us would even consider doing what they do. Let us pledge to restore them to the traditional position of respect they deserve.

And yes, let us show appreciation through better pay. In our culture we keep score by how much we are compensated. Judging by how they are paid we must not value them very highly.

Our teachers deserve more appreciation than they receive and we shouldn’t need a yearly reminder to show it to them. As the old bumper sticker said: If you can read this, thank a teacher.