Why We Need To Support Our Teachers
By: Jessica Hillis
Tags: Children, Education, Schools, Teacher Appreciation, Teachers

Any teacher my kids have gets 100% respect from me. I don’t care if they aren’t a very good teacher or that they aren’t a good fit for my kids. I have their backs.

I always tell them this as well. At parent/teacher conferences, I make it clear that I am on their side and if they need anything at all from me, just ask. I’ll find a way to buy what they need.

You want a classroom rug? I’m going to get you a classroom rug!

I know my kids can be butt heads. They are often a pain in my butt so I am sure they are for the teacher as well. Except she has to deal with 20 little butt heads every day! There’s no way I could do that without forming a drinking problem.

My kids will come home and complain about rules or whatnot. I don’t play. I explain to them that the teacher has to make sure the class is run smoothly and in order to do that, everyone needs to follow the rules. That those rules are there for a reason.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

Patience of a Saint

I have 3 kids. I’d like to think I can keep them under control relatively well. Not without driving myself insane though. How do teachers do it? They have the patience of a saint. If I had a million dollars, I’d give it to them. That can’t be easy.

My sister is a teacher and I have a lot of friends that are teachers. They are all some of my favorite people. I just couldn’t do their jobs. I’m thankful for them though. I am thankful for the people out there that want to teach my kids and love them along the way.

It isn’t a job for everyone obviously. I was a nurse and worked on the GI floor (gastrointestinal) for a while. That job probably isn’t for everyone either but I was getting paid well to do it. I actually enjoyed the work even though it was a pretty stinky floor to work on.

They Don’t Get Paid Enough

Teachers just don’t make enough. Although I don’t think it would ever be enough for the service they provide to our children. I see the relationships they build with my kids and it touches my heart. They love my kids almost as much as I do.

How can we pay them enough to thank them for sometimes being the only bright spot in a kids day? Sometimes they are the only supportive adult in a kid’s life. You can’t put a price on that.

Teachers should make as much as a doctor in my opinion. They are molding the minds of our future generations. They should be compensated for that.

Helping a child navigate life is just as important as saving a life.

My son’s former second grade teacher also works at the local theater here in our town. Why? Why does she need a second job? That’s the most insane thing I have ever heard of. You taught my son to do math and now you are serving me pop corn. That doesn’t seem right.

If our teachers can’t be paid what they are worth, that effects our kids. We are lucky there are people out there that have a passion for this profession and are OK with having lesser pay. But it shouldn’t have to be that way.

And they shouldn’t have to use their own money to pay for things. I can’t imagine how much each teacher spends of their own money to set up a classroom. Do doctors need to pay for the supplies and equipment to do their jobs? No. So why do teachers have to?

Image by Holly Dornak from Pixabay

Teachers Impact Your Life

We can all look back and think of a teacher that made an impact on us. That guided us to where we are now. That gave us a reason to keep learning or who introduced us to a subject we are now passionate about.

I’m sure their name instantly pops into your head. Mrs. DeRose, Mr. Ward, and Mr. Kinzli are mine.

These teachers taught me to love learning and a lot of the skills they have taught me, I still use today. They all took extra time to sit and talk with me and they got to know me as a person. I developed relationships with them and still remember them fondly.