Our Unsung Heroes

Our Unsung Heroes

Seems not a
day goes by that we hear about problems with our nation’s educational
system.  Test scores are lower.  Enrollment in the sciences is not up to
expectations.  Our students are lagging
behind students in other nations.  Some
schools are crumbling while others have had their funding reduced or in some
cases completely depleted which means closing the classrooms earlier for summer
vacation.

In
addition, for whatever reason teachers are being maligned for all the problems
in the system.  Johnny can’t read because
the teacher has failed to identify the cause of his shortcoming and make the
necessary corrections.  Sally was not
accepted at college because her curriculum devised by the counselor was not
stringent enough.  So let’s lay the blame
for all our educational problems at the feet of the teachers.  Au contraire! 
Permit me to offer my take on this.

First of
all teachers these days are taking on expanding roles for which few of them
signed up for.  Teachers not only have to
prepare lesson plans but have to act as surrogate parents, counselors,
physicians, mentors, referees and security officers.

Teachers
are now required to teach students with a whole host of ailments such as ADHD
and sleep deprivation.  And let’s not
forget the occasional check for head lice. 
Teachers have to administer medications to students who may have
allergies and of course they have to separate students with peanut allergies
from the group.  Some teachers even have
pictures of people who are restricted from picking up students because of a
restraining order. Incidentally, at some schools, teachers even provide and pay
for supplies!  With all this as a
backdrop, somewhere along the line they deliver a lesson plan but at times
their teaching methods are criticized by parents and even some students who are
clueless when it comes to preparing a curriculum or a syllabus.

So the role
of teachers has changed dramatically over the years.  But consider this:  each time there is a school disaster in our
nation such as a shooting, a hurricane, or even a suspicious event in the
school neighborhood, who always emerges to act as heroes – the teachers of
course!  We have heard stories of
teachers protecting students from a deranged gunman by shielding them and
losing their own life in the confrontation. 
And of course during the recent Oklahoma tornado disaster we heard
heroic stories of teachers covering students with their own bodies.  Is this what teachers signed up for?  I think not but even though it is not in
their job description teachers have always placed safety of children in their
care first before their own.

So before
we criticize teachers for a lapse in our educational system let’s first examine
the role they perform on a daily basis which frankly at times is outside the
boundaries of teaching.  Let’s make a point
to thank teachers for their commitment to the learning process.  Just maybe Johnny’s inability to read and
Sally’s lack of a college acceptance is a symptom of a home life environment -  something a teacher can’t correct!

Bill Kalmar