I love my kids' teachers. All of them. I love the assistant teachers, the teacher aids, the specials teachers, the cafeteria monitors, the librarians... every adult in my kids' schools are awesome.
I'm really not being sarcastic. I love the bus drivers too. Well, the newest one seems unusually rage-filled, but I think she is trying really hard... and I love her too.
I don't know if my kids have just been blessed with amazing teachers and so I love them, or if I would love my kids' teachers no matter what, purely because they are the people charged with the shaping and care of my precious babies for a significant portion of the day. I kind of think that I would love their teachers no matter what, because I once loved a teacher that yelled all the time and we loved that teacher anyways and eventually we helped Marlie grow to love that teacher as well.
We have always tried very hard to be a help and a support to the teachers because, frankly, I never had the mindset that the public school system owed my kids anything. We are those scandalous Christians who send our kids to public
school because, to date, it has been an awesome experience for our kids. Trust me, if it weren't the best thing for one of my kids, I'd yank them out in a hot second. But, we really feel that it's what has been best. (Each kid, each year, new decision. That's our educational decision-making motto.)
Anyways, these people deserve a little respect and appreciation from parents. Teachers are held to ridiculously high standards, forced to adapt their teaching style to meet the needs of so many students with their own unique needs, plus accommodate parental preferences and meet their state and district requirements. They work hard all year, oftentimes missing out on time with their own children because they are with mine.
These people deserve a coffee every now and again for pete's sake!
So, coffee they shall have. Love a teacher today, buy a coffee and if they are a big yeller... mmmmaybe go half-caff.
***ATATT Update: Thank you all so much for your prayers today, Tom's interview was, in his own words, a "slam dunk." You can safely assume that those would never be my words. There was no behaviors that could be described as tribal, and his bowels remain in tact. He got great feedback on his presentation and he really has no regrets and feels that he did everything he could have done, and the rest is in God's hands. I don't care if he gets the job or not, I am just so proud of him, and thankful for all his hard work and efforts. That being said, if you are reading this and you are in charge of hiring at RIT, hire Tom or I will key your car.