As the world (as we know it) has ended, I have been blown away by the outpouring of collective support for our nation's educators.
I admit that when all of this started — as both the wife and daughter of teachers — I was bracing myself for some harsh words directed at educators in our country. As many states have called for the end of in-person schools and directed efforts towards virtual learning, I feared for what I thought would be an outcry against teachers. I worried that people would say that teachers should not be paid, that they would accuse them of being lazy, that we would turn on teachers at a time when nothing in the world makes sense.
But instead, it's almost been the opposite
Eyes have finally been opened to what the work of education entails and the difference that school makes in our children's lives. I have been moved to tears to see the teachers I know brainstorming ways to continue to reach their students, to impact their lives, handing out lunches … and maybe, at least in my husband's case, muttering under his breath as he tries to figure out the technology he will need to teach from our kitchen table with his own kids piled in his lap.
Communities have rallied together, parents have praised teachers for doing what they can from home to support their children through some sort of normalcy, and teachers have shown — in ways both large and small — how much they really do care.
And they do care, so much
It's been hard to see what the teachers I know go through. Teaching is never just about the lesson in the book — it's always about so much more. My husband has been a part of students' lives in so many ways, from a source of support through difficult family situations, poverty, grief, and circumstances that can't even be described.
He is a place of stability and safety for many students. It's hard to put a price on what the presence of a good teacher can be in a student's life, and yet, that is exactly what has to happen. I'm just relieved that people across the nation are finally starting to see what many of us have already known.
So, thank you, world
Maybe it's not everywhere, but for this teacher's wife, I have felt supported by the community more than ever. It feels like instead of the cold shoulder I feared would come for our teachers, we are all working together to focus on what is best for the children — and that's a message I hope will live on, even when this outbreak doesn't.