Teaching is more than a profession. It is a vocation. And yet, teachers are not always well regarded and are often the subject of ridicule. Certainly, their pay does not reflect the enormous responsibility that has been bestowed upon them. The people that maintain our lawns and groom our pets are likely paid more than the teachers with whom we have entrusted the education of our children. Public-school teachers and teachers’ unions are maligned. Private-school teachers are typically paid less than their public-school counterparts. School board members and parents’ advisory board members, many of whom have never spent a day in a classroom teaching, hold sway over our teachers lives and careers. Most politicians claim to value education, but their actions would prove otherwise.
Last week comments made by Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance in 2021 resurfaced. Vance attacked Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, for not having “a single child of her own.” It would appear that he believes someone without a “child of their own” is not qualified to teach.
Apparently, Vance was never blessed with the kind of the teachers that I have known. My favorite teachers were all childless. Whether by chance or choice or more likely by a conscious decision to live a consecrated life, these teachers tirelessly devoted their lives to other peoples’ children. I was the lucky recipient of their devotion to education. The religious Sisters that taught me in grade school and high school instilled in me a thirst for knowledge and a curiosity for life beyond my small-town existence. They taught me self-discipline and gave me self-confidence. None of them had given birth to a child, but they were all exemplary teachers. 50 or 60 years on, and I still remember those lessons.
My aunts, who were Sisters of the Most Precious Blood in O’Fallon, Missouri, dedicated their lives to education. Taking religious vows and being childless, didn’t weaken or lessen their ability to teach. In fact, I believe it strengthened their desire to serve others. They were all three remarkable women who taught, wrote, and had positions of leadership. I still, on occasion, will meet someone who was taught by one of my aunts. They are remembered for their love of teaching and their dedication to the children in their care. And not the just the children, they served the families of their students as well. Plus, they taught their own nieces and nephews by their examples of loving devotion.
So, if you are able to “do math” in your head, thank a teacher. If you know the difference between there, their, and they’re, thank a teacher. If you are able to read and write in cursive, thank a teacher. If you have a passion for learning, thank a teacher. If you pursued a career that you learned about in a classroom, thank a teacher.
It doesn’t matter if they had children of their own – they had you!
They had you and they gave you a part of themselves. Let’s lift them up! If they’re still around send them a note (in cursive) thanking them for the gift of education. If they have passed on, remember to thank God for them in your prayers. And thank God that they also helped you learn how to pray.
Peace,
Denis
Journeying & Journaling 