Teachers, We Appreciate You

 Teachers, on behalf of parents of school age children everywhere, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for the extraordinary job you did to guide your students through the most challenging school year in memory. 

 

Actually, with most schools “going virtual” last March, you spent closer to one and a half school years navigating the unknown as the Covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc across the globe. Nothing you were taught in college could have prepared you for the sudden switch to virtual instruction, yet somehow you managed to figure it out anyway. You had no choice. Failure was not an option.

 

You didn’t learn about preventing the spread of a deadly and highly contagious virus when you were in college either, yet when in-seat instruction resumed you wore your mask at school all day, every day, you sanitized hard surfaces and classroom materials regularly, and you did your level best to maintain a six-foot distance between your students (even kindergarteners!). Through your diligence, Covid transmission in our schools was almost nonexistent. You not only taught our children, but you kept them safe, too. Without a doubt, by helping prevent the spread of the virus in our schools, you saved lives.

 

You saved lives while putting your own at risk. That’s what we call heroism, my friends. You went to school each day knowing that there was a very real chance that you could contract the virus or accidentally bring it home to your own families. You knew the danger, but you faced it head-on, and with a smile on your face (albeit a smile hidden behind a mask.)

 

That smile was important. You smiled with your eyes and your voice, and miraculously, you made this school year a positive experience for your students.

 

You did all of this, of course, without receiving extra compensation or hazard pay. One of the most notoriously underpaid and underappreciated professions prior to the pandemic became the most criminally underfunded profession in this country during the pandemic. Underfunded, but perhaps no longer underappreciated. 

 

When parents were forced to stay at home to help their children with virtual learning, Americans suddenly gained a new level of respect for professional educators. Parents quickly learned that if it is stressful to teach one or two kids at home, then it must be unimaginably difficult to teach twenty or thirty (or more) at school. 

 

You teachers have always had my respect, especially since I started substitute teaching nearly a decade ago. But this year, you truly outdid yourselves. Having subbed for most of the academic year at Southern Boone Primary School, I had the pleasure of watching some of the most talented and dedicated human beings I have ever known not merely survive, but thrive during this unprecedented year. It was a privilege to work alongside you, learn from you, and draw inspiration from you.

 

Your commitment to your students has never been in doubt, and the 2020-2021 school year has proven once and for all that there is not a more dedicated, compassionate, and talented group of professionals than the teachers, administrators, and staff employed here in Southern Boone. Teachers everywhere should be given tremendous raises, and I say we start with the teachers working right here in Ashland, Missouri.

 

Our district is growing quickly, and you, the teachers of SoBoCo Schools, have always exceeded the lofty expectations of this community. Many of us moved to the area for the express purpose of ensuring that our children receive the best education in Central Missouri. You teachers are the heartbeat of Southern Boone, and we owe you a huge debt of gratitude for what you have done for our children and our community. And we owe you competitive wages, too.

 

I would like to challenge the good people of Southern Boone County to work with the school board and administrators, and with our representatives in state and local government, to find a way to pay our educators what they are worth. With the influx of new housing, businesses, and residents, there is more money floating around Southern Boone County than ever before. It is time we recognize the tremendous job our teachers are doing by compensating them appropriately.

 

While we’re at it, let’s pay substitute teachers better as well. With teachers having to be quarantined frequently this school year, it became more obvious than ever how important it is to have dependable subs available. At $80 per day, or roughly $10 per hour, subs earn less than most new hires at fast food restaurants. For a job that requires two years of college and the ability to effectively teach large groups of children, ten bucks an hour is woefully insufficient. 

 

Teachers and substitutes, cooks and custodians, secretaries and support staff, paraprofessionals and principals—we appreciate you. Congratulations on making it to the end of the most unusual and difficult school year any of us can recall. And thank you for everything you have done to make our corner of the world a little bit better. 

 

Now go have yourselves the best summer ever!