Teacher Appreciation, Year Three

It's that time of year again. Grumpy, old teacher is back, but has more to say than in previous years because he has more than one audience in mind.

In anticipation of Teacher Appreciation Week, when (in theory) the public, parents, maybe students, never legislators (with sincerity), and you will die if you hold out for a sincere appreciation from Betsy Devos, tell teachers how great they are, before we get there, this grumpy, old teacher first wants to say whom he appreciates.

1. Custodians who clean the room daily. Students are messy even when they are not doing it deliberately: paper dropped on the floor, gum stuck under the desk, all types of refuse put into all the wrong places because it's too much trouble to get up and walk to the trash can to drop it in. Every day you sweep it up and carry it out. Thank you. This teacher appreciates all you do to keep my classroom clean.

2. Cafeteria workers who feed children daily. Students often do not eat before they reach school, sometimes their choice, sometimes they have no food to eat, sometimes things happen. You make sure they have hot and nutritious food to eat. At my school, you make sure the milk is not spoiled and the fruit is not rotten. You make sure that no child comes to my classroom hungry and unable to learn. Thank you. This teacher appreciates all you do to feed my students.

3. Security personnel. Students need continual urging to get to class on time, to get back to class when out for a bathroom break, and intervention when their emotions get the better of them. You keep our students safe. You come when a student melts down in the classroom to take them out so they can recover. Your eyes constantly watch our perimeter for intruders who do not belong on campus. More than that, you establish relationships with students so they feel comfortable sharing their concerns and fears with you. Because of that, we head off most trouble before it can start. Thank you. This teacher appreciates all you do to keep our students safe.

4. Caring administrators. You may have moved up the ranks, but you have kept your teacher's heart. You remember what it's like to teach, to struggle with reluctant learners, to deal with all the problems that walk in the door that have nothing to do with school, and you do not blame teachers. You support them. Thank you. This teacher appreciates all you do to support his efforts to create an environment where children choose to learn.

5. Counselors always at the ready. I detect the problems, but don't have time to find solutions. Often, it is far beyond a classroom teacher's ability or resources to help a child despite the desire to do so. When I bring someone to your attention, you go to work. You find counseling for a child stuck in grief, you deal with the trauma of their personal life's situation, you probe when we know something is going on but we don't know what, you give advice for success, you have the time that I do not. Thank you. This teacher appreciates all you do to provide students with a support system that they need.

6. Office clerks who keep the school running. You deal with all the needs of the school and children: administering medicine, tracking tardies, answering the phone, meeting parents, checking to see that people who show up to take a student are authorized to do so, maintaining records ... if you were not around, the system would dump all those tasks on teachers. Thank you. This teacher appreciates all you do so he can focus on teaching.

7. Parents who do not blame teachers when children do not perform according to expectations. We are a team and you know that. You don't call the school to complain about me; you call me so we can discuss how to help your child. You recognize we have the same goal: the success of your child. You cannot do what I do, but I cannot do what you do. You are the most significant person in your child's life, even if your child is a teenager and is busy telling you that you no longer matter (hint: the louder the protest, the more you know it is not true), and your support makes all the difference. I can't make a child do homework, I can only record a failing grade, but you can AND you do. Thank you. This teacher appreciates all the ways you support him.

8. Lastly, the public who supports a robust, strong public education system of schools. I'm not talking about fake public schools (charters). I'm talking about the real thing. You call legislators, you hold school board members accountable, you don't have children in the system any longer but are happy to pay the taxes needed to support public education because you realize its crucial role in supporting our society. Thank you. This teacher appreciates the support you provide.

Oklahoma! Where the Teachers Beg for Art Supplies

I'm not sure how to react to the story: OK Teacher posts pic of broken chair.

People have donated $44,000 worth of supplies in response.

Part of me is amazed and grateful at the support Americans provide to public education, willing to go beyond the cheap parsimony of state legislatures that have been defunding public schools for two decades in the hopes that ALEC, the Koch Brothers, Eli Broad, and others will bless their careers and give them new opportunities to build personal wealth through power.

Much of me is angry that this is what we have come to.

In my school, we can't get enough desks for our classrooms; therefore, another teacher and I pass desks between our classrooms every day to accommodate the number of students that will be in the room.

I have broken furniture that will not be replaced. Every teacher does. For the lucky few who get noticed, go viral with a social media post, and are blessed with an abundance of donations, I am very happy.

But I will note that for every one of those, there are a thousand teachers who go without.

See, that's the problem with private charity. It does its best, but it can't be as effective as a comprehensive, universal effort that is fair to all. That takes government and that takes taxes.

Private charity is controlled by the donor. Donors are generous, but they also act according to their beliefs, their histories, and their life histories.

I hate to say it, but the racial dynamics of our country come into play. We are much more likely to be generous with someone who looks like us than someone who does not.

That's why we have a government bound by constitutional principles (equal protection under the law and due process, among others) that must be fair. Even with those principles in place, we don't live up to the promise.

Sadly, though, this is what we have come to--teachers must beg for help. Nobody seems to question it. I know a lot of teachers who maintain Go Fund Me accounts. There are enough teachers doing such fundraising that school districts are reacting with prohibitions. I guess it's too embarrassing for them. However, I have never heard of a district banning Go Fund Me that hands a teacher a $5,000 expense account for classroom supplies, either.

Does your doctor have a Go Fund Me for bandages, syringes, and rubbing alcohol? Does your accountant have a Go Fund Me for a laptop computer and adding machine tape? Does your auto mechanic have a Go Fund Me for tools, motor oil, and antifreeze? Does your hairdresser have a Go Fund Me for combs, curlers, and hair dye? Does your bus driver, even a school bus driver, have to have a Go Fund Me to put gas in the bus?!

When did we accept that this is the norm for a teacher's life?

I've made up my mind. I appreciate the generosity of Americans, but this story makes me angry.