Community Chat

[mollypup]

Thank you for the response. Many would rather work 9 months for what takes many 12 months to make. And get the many benefits. My neighbors are both teachers and have said they love the three months off to spend time with their chidren.  They are great neighbors and I know they are great teachers.

[LTT1]

@Marienkaefer2

Amen! You wrote it succinctly and so well!

Thank you for writing this.❤️

PS I DID choose this as a career (teaching HS) for my 2nd career.

Students asked me:

1 Do teachers make very much money? (a common topic)

2 Are teachers glorified babysitters?

I answered these questions as a teacher who has pride in her CHOICE of career and a person who CHOSE to teach THEM!

Would a parent ever tell their child that they didn't choose THEM? Sad, but true, some of mine had been told this by their parents!  I'll be darned if I would ever let them think they weren't worth enough to be chosen!

[newziesuzie]

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@LTT1 wrote:

@newziesuzie

Thank you for your original post...❤️💙💚💜💛

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@LTT1

You're welcome!

The poem is powerful and the

author of it has done excellent work

with young people across the country 

inspiring them to become teachers so

I'm glad to share his work and also to

give me admiration and support to teachers!

🍎❤️🍎 😊

[newziesuzie]

@qualitygal @maestra @cecesnana @RainCityWoman @lolakimono @shoekitty @LTT1  @Marienkaefer2 @RespectLife

Thanks for your helpful informative posts! 😊

[dooBdoo]

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@newziesuzie wrote:

May 2 - 6 is National Teacher Appreciation Week

Thank you to all teachers.❤️

::

::

http://www.taylormali.com/poems-online/what-teachers-make/

::

"What Teachers Make
by Taylor Mali

He says the problem with teachers is
What’s a kid going to learn
from someone who decided his best option in life
was to become a teacher?
He reminds the other dinner guests that it’s true
what they say about teachers:
Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.
I decide to bite my tongue instead of his
and resist the temptation to remind the dinner guests
that it’s also true what they say about lawyers.
Because we’re eating, after all, and this is polite conversation.

I mean, you’re a teacher, Taylor.
Be honest. What do you make?

And I wish he hadn’t done that— asked me to be honest—
because, you see, I have this policy about honesty and a**-­‐kicking:
if you ask for it, then I have to let you have it.
You want to know what I make?
I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional Medal of Honor
and an A-­  feel like a slap in the face.
How dare you waste my time
with anything less than your very best.
I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall
in absolute silence. No, you may not work in groups.
No, you may not ask a question.
Why won’t I let you go to the bathroom?
Because you’re bored.
And you don’t really have to go to the bathroom, do you?

I make parents tremble in fear when I call home:
Hi. This is Mr. Mali. I hope I haven’t called at a bad time,
I just wanted to talk to you about something your son said today.
To the biggest bully in the grade, he said,
“Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don’t you?
It’s no big deal.”
And that was noblest act of courage I have ever seen.
I make parents see their children for who they are
and what they can be.

You want to know what I make? I make kids wonder,
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write.
I make them read, read, read.
I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful
over and over and over again until they will never misspell
either one of those words again.
I make them show all their work in math
and hide it on their final drafts in English.
I make them understand that if you’ve got this,
then you follow this,
and if someone ever tries to judge you
by what you make, you give them this.

Here, let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true:

Teachers make a ******* difference! Now what about you?"

Mali. Taylor. “What Teachers Make.” What Learning Leaves. Newtown, CT: Hanover Press, 2002. Print. (ISBN: 1-­‐887012-­‐17-­‐6)

(Mali is a vocal advocate of teachers and the nobility of teaching, having himself spent nine years in the classroom teaching everything from English and history to math and S.A.T. test preparation.)

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         Thanks for posting this, @newziesuzie!  I'm a fan of Taylor Mali and his work.

          I'm also a huge fan of teachers.  I'd love to see every day deemed "Teacher Appreciation Day."