Without teachers, ‘We’d all be a bunch of dummies’

Who has the most important job?

That was the question I asked six fifth-grade girls during lunch Wednesday. We have lunch together every Wednesday at Jefferson Elementary. Girl Power. That’s us.

I thought they’d say the president or the school principal. But without exception they answered: “Teachers.”

When I asked why they thought that, everyone talked at once, but I caught, “We’d all be a bunch of dummies without teachers.” And “How could we ever get to college? If you don’t go to college, you can’t get a job.”

Decades ago when I was a teacher at Pleasant Valley Junior High (yes, before middle school), I attended a school board meeting. Dan Glickman was on the school board at the time. He said to me, “A teaching job is the most important job there is. But they are undervalued.”

I agreed then and still do.

So why are teachers undervalued? I watch them interact with students every week. I see hugs and winks, supportive comments and a pause to look directly at a student who is asking something.

While teachers these days wait to see if school programs are going to be eliminated, or if their small elementary school will be closing, I would hope legislators will leave their offices and get out in the schools. Take a look at the necessities. Surely they realize that a quality education is priceless.

One girl said that if all the schools were closed “to save money on the tax stuff,” she would have to learn everything on her phone.

“Or we could be home-schooled,” suggested another girl. “No, because my mom can’t do my math in this grade,” another one said.

When a person decides to be a teacher, he or she knows there’s probably not a private yacht in the future. But shouldn’t teachers at least have the support of their state, parents of students, the school administration and, yes, the students?

“Teachers aren’t paid enough because they have to put up with bad kids sometimes,” was a comment I heard. “And they do extra stuff that they don’t get paid for.”

Once these students stopped and thought about the difficulties in teaching, and what it would be like if there were fewer people working there, they didn’t like the idea.

“The office ladies have to be there to answer the phone because getting a recording is annoying. I called Apple because I couldn’t remember my password, and a recording asked me all this stuff that I couldn’t answer because my phone was locked,” a student told me, standing up to emphasize her point. She added: “You can call the school and a real person answers. That’s how it should be.”

I can remember the names of every grade school teacher I had. Those years are important. Years ago, I tried to locate my third-grade teacher because I wanted to tell her how much she taught me. My fifth-grade teacher, Sharon Farmer Wasson, is now my friend. I decided in her class that I wanted to teach someday.

So, if you get a chance, thank a teacher you had in school, or one who made or is making an impact on your child’s life.

Everyone wants to be appreciated, and a teacher certainly deserves appreciation.

This story was originally published March 25, 2016 at 3:20 PM with the headline "Without teachers, ‘We’d all be a bunch of dummies’."