Educator's Affirmation

I have taken a few excerpts from an article making the rounds on the internet. This was forwarded on by Mrs. Thornburg and Mrs. Brady. It comes from a posting titled, An Educator's Affirmation. I edited it for length.

Schools don't teach values? The critics are dead wrong. Public education provides more Sunday School teachers than any other profession.

You want heroes?

For millions of kids, the hug they get from a teacher is the only hug they will get that day. An Argyle, Texas kindergarten teacher hugs her little 5 and 6 year-olds so much that both the boys and the girls run up and hug her when they see her in the hall, at the football games, or in the malls years later.

A Michigan principal moved me to tears with the story of her attempt to rescue a badly abused little boy who doted on a stuffed animal on her desk .. one that said "I love you!" He said he'd never been told that at home. This is a constant in today's society .. two million unwanted, unloved, abused children in the public schools, the only institution that takes them all in.

You want heroes?

Visit any special education class and watch the miracle of personal interaction, a job so difficult that fellow teachers are awed by the dedication they witness.

There is a sentence from an unnamed source which says: "We have been so eager to give our children what we didn't have that we have neglected to give them what we did have." What is it that our kids really need? What do they really want? Math, science, history and social studies are important, but children need love, confidence, encouragement, someone to talk to, someone to listen, standards to live by. Teachers provide upright examples, the faith and assurance of responsible people.

You want heroes?

Then go down to your local school and see our real live heroes. The ones changing lives for the better each and every day! None of us are perfect, but I would put our profession up against any when in comes to being heroes!