Why Are Teachers Heroes?

America is a land of rainbows. Its horizon is filled with radiant vistas and its communities are peopled in artistic palates of colors. We savor its freedoms and protections.

 

We also face its complexity: challenges to our daily lives, to making a living, to raising a family, and to finding a healthy balance.

 

Families struggle with these challenges and children are only a part of their big picture. And, this is where teacher heroes come in and where we need to support teachers!

 

Teachers build their careers around children. We effectively assess students’ needs. How can we best motivate them? What are the developmental issues of each student? What are the family dynamics for each child? How do students learning styles vary?

Teachers never leave their “classroom.” That’s right – teachers bring their work with them everywhere. The children, the curriculum, technology … they are always on our minds! A teacher’s dining room table is set for lesson plans. The place settings are food for the mind.

 

Teachers protect children from a bombardment of distractions. Our commercialized society is enticing and seductive. Teachers shield children from the negative influences that abound. We accomplish this by creating learning environments that thrive on imaginative thinking.

 

Teachers support families. Given societies’ pressures, teachers are a steady support for parents torn by economic burdens and materialism. Some families have spiritual communities, some do not. Teachers embrace their students’ families to offer guidance and emotional sustenance.

 

Teachers nurture their own souls. To sustain us is a critical challenge. We must attend to our inner core, to keep our flames burning strong.

 

Teachers are heroes because we are givers amidst commercialized takers.

 

Teachers are heroes because we promote respect for our great nation, champion its values, and shine light on individual growth.

 

Teachers are heroes because we never give up on a child!

4 thoughts on “Why Are Teachers Heroes?

  1. Why indeed are teachers heroes?
    * They nurture and care for our nation’s children
    * They take the blame when the blame is not theirs
    * Their work day never ends
    * They continue their education while educating others
    * Theirs is a world of patience and understanding when they themselves are so often misunderstood and misrepresented
    * They instill the principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness
    * Their life after school is often more school: tutoring, sponsorships, coaching, professinal development, graduate studies
    * They work hard but not for the money
    * They love what they do
    * They are the foundation, the rock, the support that makes America strong!

    And these are just part of the reasons why teachers are our heroes!

    “The task of the excellent teacher is to stimulate ‘apparently ordinary’ people into unusual effort. The tough problem is not in identifying winners: it is in making winners out of ordinary people.”
    ~K. Patricia Cross

  2. Good to see the column ‘why teachers are heroes.’
    We are a group of seasoned academicians of higher education and retired scientists from India. We appreciate and respect your feelings.

  3. As a former public school teacher for 32 years, and now a field representative for the New Jersey Education Association, I am amazed by what I have seen our teachers do for their students. Why are they heroes? They educate, stimulate, encourage, and nourish their students. They spend their own money when school districts don’t provide needed classroom supplies. They work with their students before school, during lunch time, and after school — and they do all this while being vilified by various elected leaders. They accomplish everything they do at a time when there are increasing federal and state regulations that make their jobs more difficult than ever. They are heroes because they are the common denominators that foster only the best future for our nation.

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