Teaching is a role that I am in awe of. I would seriously have a panic attack if you told me that I had to sub for even one day. Standing in front of a class with little (or big) people relying on me to say something meaningful, to teach them something profound...dealing with parents who are either helicoptering their children or who just don't care and are relying on the teachers solely to teach their kids not only intellectual knowledge but emotional knowledge as well...the beaurocrazy (I was going to correct the spelling of that, but it seems about right) that dictates what they can and cannot teach, the testing, the snow make up days, the overworked and underpaid aspect of it all, (that could be a whole week's worth of posts all together) the pure emotional and physical exhaustion of being on their feet all day and shaping hearts and minds. I need a nap even thinking about all that they endure and are passionate about enduring every.single.day.
Glennon Melton (who will be here in Winston in just over a week on March 21-22...buy your tickets HERE) wrote about a teacher on her blog Momastery that has gone viral. It is the perfect example of how these amazing men and women are not only shaping our children's minds but also their hearts. The blog post is called, "SHARE THIS WITH ALL THE SCHOOLS PLEASE," and can be found HERE. (More to come on Glennon's visit next week!!)
There is nothing that I can do to truly show my gratitude for what each and every one of these teachers is doing for my children...especially not during one week...but we can do some things:
We can pray for our teachers...our children's teachers, our friends who are teachers, those who are career teachers and those who are life teachers.
Get to know our teachers. Don't take everything at face value or at the word of our children. Chances are, our teachers have been doing what they're doing for quite a few years and probably, in fact, know exactly what they're doing.
Thank our teachers...don't just make one week about thanking teachers...taking time to say a simple "Thank you!" can go a long way...a note, a gift card, a dinner (some easy recipes are linked below) just take it a step further.
These teachers are on the front lines of helping to form our children into their future selves...let's support them wholeheartedly in any way that we can. Special love to NSF, MKO, LWT, AEL, CLS, SJL and JMC who are some of my family and best friends who are doing all that they can do embrace our children (young and old) and show them that there's more to learning than striving for straight A's.
Happy Cooking!
LINKS TO RECIPES:
Chicken & Wild Rice
Chicken Enchiladas
Jambalaya
Poppyseed Chicken or Chicken, Broccoli, & Rice Casserole
Stetson Salad if you want something really special
