The other day as I was getting dressed in the locker room at
my local Planet Fitness, a young man standing in front of the locker next to
mine, asked “Sir, excuse me, what do you for a living?” When I told him I was a
college professor, he said “I thought so. You remind me of a teacher I had in
grade school.” He went on to tell me about this ex-NFL player-turned
Kindergarten-teacher he had at the Cook-Wissahickon Elementary School in the
Roxboro section of Philadelphia. He said that this teacher made an impact on
him and “all the kids in the project.”
I was touched by the young man’s story. Here he was 18-20
years after the fact telling a total stranger the impact one dedicated teacher
made on his life. Teachers don’t often know the impact they have on their students;
even students don’t often know at the time; it is only much later when
something reminds us of a teacher who shared his/her life with us in
transformative ways.
I pray for teachers, particularly in the K-12 systems of our
cities. In part it is because my oldest daughter is a middle school special ed
teacher, and I hear the stories she tells of the kids she deals with. Additionally,
I know many others who are or have been teachers, and have seen the kind of
dedication and commitment most of them bring to the classroom. I think of
another friend, a GR6-12 principal who has taken young men under his wing,
shown them tough love, and helped them see what it is to a man in a violent and
dehumanizing world. Teachers like that aren't confined to the curriculum, they
see what they do as giving their lives to kids in meaningful ways.
I also hurt for teachers because so often they are blamed
for the troubles in schools today. In Philadelphia as well as many districts,
teachers are continually being asked to do more with less. Because the school
district cannot adequately supply their classes, they spend their own money or ask
friends and family for donations of pencils, paper, markers and other
necessities of the classroom. Meanwhile they are often vilified by conservative
politicians who want to undermine their rights to organize and unionize, while blaming
their salaries and benefits for a district’s fiscal crisis.
While most teachers earn a decent wage, they are by no means
overpaid. Those who don’t know any better will claim that teachers get a year’s
wage for 9 months of work. Anyone who has sat in a middle or high school
classroom like I have and watched what goes on in these overcrowded,
underfunded schools, knows they earn every penny and more. Programs like Teach
for America bring bright college grads, give them a crash course in teaching
methodology and classroom management, and then send them into under-resourced
schools. While the intention is honorable (to encourage these best and
brightest to give back to others), programs like TFA leave the impression that
anyone can teach. Yet TFA volunteers burn out or leave after a year or two and
kids are left to “train” another new idealistic recruit while those teachers
who have persevered for years are undermined and under appreciated.
As I reflect on my educational experience, I can point to
teachers whose impact I still feel over 40 years later. Why should I be
surprised that a 20-something old kid would be reminded of the impact of one of
his teachers just because I sort of looked like him?
As I was packing up to leave, I said to the young man: “If
you ever have a chance to see that teacher, tell him what you told me. He would
appreciate it.” Whoever you are, I hope he finds you- you made quite an impression.
[Image from Wikimedia Commons]
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