Respect for Teachers at the Republican National Convention
It was empowering to hear Governor Chris Christie taking time to speak about respect for teachers, last night, at the republican National Convention. Each of us who are in the classroom, hope that we are appreciated for what we do each day. ”We have faith in us, ” said the governor, and as teachers we do have faith in what we do for the children of America. Teaching is a profession to be respected.
Teaching is not an easy profession. Each day we are faced with the problems that are facing our students. There are struggles to reach out to the lonely, the mistreated, the broken, and under-achieving students. We acknowledge the difficulty of planning new and engaging lessons that engage the diversity of learners who we work with each day. Teachers stay after school for enrichment, come before school to help struggling learners, and make daily breakthroughs with students who have lost faith in themselves.
The governor celebrated the fact that teachers know that the system must “be reformed to put students first.” Those of us who are in the classroom struggle with the requirements of being accountable and having time to keep our students at the forefront of our responsibilities. Teachers have responsibilities to our schools and students, and we take all of these responsibilities seriously.
Teachers agree that most of us don’t “teach to become rich or famous.” In fact, most teachers are steady laborers in the classroom working to make a difference one student at a time. There is little monetary gain, and yet we work on. Sometimes family members of our students do not have respect for teachers, and we struggle to keep an open mind. We need for the politicians in power to believe in the important that work we are doing. We need their support. At Altering Education, we understand that teachers are part of each political party. We appreciate the positive comments made by Governor Christie and ask him to remember that whether we are in a union or non-union school, we want to continue to support our hard working teachers as they struggle to be excellent in the classroom.
