Honor the Teachers

All of us, probably, have a wish list for America. Here’s an item on mine.

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash

For this or that reason, I’ve been thinking about schoolteachers—K thru 12. Or pre-K thru 12. (I have a vague memory of a pre-K teacher of mine—a “nursery school” teacher. That memory is vague, yes, but still a memory.)

All of us have a wish list for America, I bet. Here is an item on mine: I wish that schoolteachers could once more have a place of esteem and honor in our society. They are key. Crucial.

People often talk about how schoolteachers screw up. We concentrate on their failings, and the problematic nature of their unions. Okay. But have you seen what teachers have to work with these days? Have you thought about the circumstances in which they have to work with it?

Holy Moses.

Among the heroes of my own life have been my teachers. I’m ever grateful for them.

About a week ago, I had a column called “Secret Views.” I spilled some of mine and invited readers to spill some of theirs. I published a subsequent column called (imaginatively enough) “Secret Views, Cont.”

After that second column appeared, I heard from a friend and reader who teaches school. He wrote,

I wish I could say to parents, “Your kid is a jerk and his life will be hell if you don’t change things quickly.” I wish I could ask, “Why didn’t you read to your child?” or “Why do you let him have unlimited access to a cellphone and a computer?” or “Why don’t you discuss your child’s homework?”

Really, sometimes the question might boil down to “Why did you have children?” or “Did you not know what parenthood involves?”

I don’t wish to romanticize the teaching profession as it was in the old days. I have little use for nostalgia in general. But let me indulge in at least a little romance—and there is truth in the romance.

Schoolteachers were big deals in town. They were among the few who had a college education. They ruled their classrooms, usually benevolently. They were in charge of those classrooms. They had important things to impart—particular lessons and “life lessons.” They were not well paid, in money, but they were paid in esteem and gratitude.

Schoolteacher was a prestige job.

It was thrilling for kids to see their teachers outside the classroom—outside school, “in the wild.” You saw your teacher in the grocery store and you went, “Wow! There’s my teacher!” And if your teacher came to your home for dinner—oh, my goodness. That was an unbelievable honor.

Again, this is romance, but with truth.

(My grandfather was a teacher—and a coach, and later superintendent of schools, and later mayor. I could not go anywhere in his town without being told, “Your grandfather meant the world to me.”)

Look, I know the problems with the teaching profession and its associated unions. I have been steeped in conservative literature for 40 years. For 30, I have contributed a fair amount to it. But there is more to say than “libtard teachers” and “libtard unions.”

Schools can be no better than our society at large. You are familiar with the expression “You can’t make chicken salad out of chicken sh**.” For many teachers, getting through the day safely is the No. 1 concern. And if you can impart knowledge—that’s gravy.

Do teachers have the authority they ought to have? Not absolute authority—that would be wrong—but enough? Are they free to talk turkey to students? (I have switched from chickens to turkeys.) Or are they scared to say the wrong thing, lest they be reported and penalized?

In most cases, teachers can’t pick and choose their customers. I recall what John Boehner said about working as a bartender—which he did in his father’s tavern: “You have to deal with every jackass who comes through the door.”

Some of the above thoughts, I expressed on social media. I would like to paste some of the responses (in edited form). They may interest you, as they did me.

1.

I left teaching for a lot of the reasons you mentioned. Just not worth it to be treated and compensated so poorly.

So much respect for those able to battle through for the kids. True heroes.

2.

I retired this past year after 30 years.

I couldn’t do it anymore.

I used to love my job.

3.

My father was a teacher, and he forbade me to become one. It’s easy to see why.

4.

After teaching special education for eleven years, I now work as a correctional officer and make twice as much. It’s 100 times easier.

That’s sad.

5.

Most people do not know what teaching entails and how much work and energy goes into our jobs daily. There are so many working parts. I’m in a hospital bed right now and have been following team texts, answering parents’ e-mails, and planning for next week.

6.

As someone married to a teacher, and who had never realized how hard the job was, I couldn’t agree with you more.

(Let me break in to supply a memory. I had a good friend who was a golf pro and who always scorned the teaching profession. “It’s a scam job. You work short hours and then take the whole summer off.” Late in life, he married a teacher—and reported, “I can now tell you how difficult and demanding the job is.”)

7.

I agree 100 percent. I’m the wife of a retired teacher who drove approximately 160 miles a day to teach because he loved the kids.

8.

I’ve always thought that teachers should be highly paid, and that the positions should be the sort of thing that everyone aspires to. Our best and brightest should be shaping the adults of tomorrow.

Finally,

9.

Public education helps more people than any other institution in this country!

Is that true? It is certainly arguable.

Look: I have written a rah-rah article about teachers. There are a thousand other things to say—they can be said in other articles. I thought it couldn’t kill us, however, to sing a little hymn. I think that teachers’ work ought to be esteemed. I think the same of all good and useful and honest work.

Thank you for joining me today, my friends.