Five Minute Friday - dear

Five Minute Friday – Dear –

Fridays are magical for so many reasons.  One of those reasons is Five Minute Friday.  Five minutes of writing about one word.  The prompt comes from Kate Motaung, who writes at www.katemotaung.com.  We all write for five minutes and then link up.  It’s refreshing and exciting and challenging.  Today’s prompt is close to my heart.  Five minutes is not enough to even get started on my thoughts about teachers.  Being one myself, I tend to think about education quite a bit!  But these are the ones that came out in five minutes. 

Dear Teachers,

     To the teachers who teach my children: thank you, for so very many reasons.  My kids are willing to wake up, get ready, and go to school because you are there.  The both know that you care about them as human beings – not just students.  They believe that you believe in them and that makes them try harder, want to do well, and believe that they can do what they need to do.  They smile and laugh as they talk about their days.  They have discussions about history, and science, and current events, and books, and even math, because you have made it important.  Many of you I have had the honor of speaking to about my kids.  Your understanding of who they are, what they need, and what they are capable of, amazes me.  These two kids of mine are my greatest treasure and you are taking care of them, just as I would.  I cannot possibly convey my gratitude.

     To the teacher who has taught her students, and her colleagues that sometimes the best thing to do is, “Let it Go”, you are making a difference.  That note you were writing today to a former student, the one full of encouragement, and kindness, and words that will touch her heart – that is so you.  It represents your heart for the people around you.  It is the tangible proof that you get kids.  You get what they need, what they want, and what is important.  You have changed the life of that one kid in a multitude of positive and lasting ways.  You taught her so much more than reading, writing, and math.  You taught her that she could learn, that she was worth teaching, and that she was capable of being loved.  You taught her that she needed to give her best effort, even when she didn’t want to, that following rules was important, and that despite her circumstances, she could be successful.  And, that’s just one of the hundreds that you have touched.  Hundreds.  Because, each one you treat like you do this child.  You not only teach, you teach kids how to learn, how to love learning, how to think, and to believe in themselves.  No test can measure that.