In this day and age, our country’s competitive job industry is so focused on bringing in more engineers and technological centered applicants in order to gain a competitive edge within our own domestic homeland and the global spectrum. While these positions are important, I feel that “we” as a country have forgotten and overlooked the most important position there is to offer, the position of being an educational teacher.
According to the Mobile Digest of Education Statistics in 2017, 98.2 percent of children from the ages of 7-13 years old were enrolled in Elementary and Secondary schools, and this number is expected to increase 2-3 percent by 2027. That number may not be surprising since it is a formality in America for parents to enroll their children in school. But keep in mind that these children go under the wing of teachers for eight hours of the day and for these children to receive quality education at the grade school level. We must embrace the importance of these teachers and the impact they have on our children of America.
Being a teacher is an extremely tough career due to the fact it often calls for huge amounts of work outside of the workplace causing teachers to sacrifice their own time to spend with family in order to create the lesson plans and handouts they will need for class. According to the National Education Association the national average salary for teachers is roughly $46,000. For the work these teachers do, they are severely uncompensated and unappreciated. If we truly want our children to learn and be the best that they can be, we must embrace the idea of valuing our teachers more highly and accept the fact that these teachers can have more of an impact on our children than our own parents at times.
Teachers are a fundamental part of our children’s growth and education, and it’s time that we treat them and give them the vital respect they deserve. Sure, parents are the main mentor and teacher for their own children, but parents don’t play the same role as our teachers of America do. Sure, some teachers are better than others, but even valuable lessons come from subpar teachers such as how you shouldn’t treat, talk, or respect others. And when we as a country do start to cherish, embrace, and value the role of teachers, I’m certain our teachers will step up and be renewed which will make for a great positive impact being passed on to our children. We as the parents, we must first understand the task our teachers are given and be more understanding of the pressure teachers bare when they receive our children. Second, we need to give our teachers the proper appreciation, support, and resources they deserve in order to be able to help our children grow and learn, instead of criticizing their lack of ability to do their job sufficiently because the same person criticizing the teacher wouldn’t even be able to last a week in that teachers position.
I’m sure we all know examples of great teachers, but as parents we need to offer all that we can, whether its tangible or intangible, to be of strong support and appreciation for our teachers of America. Just as we “Back the Blue” or want to “Make America Great Again” or feel that “Black Lives Matter,” we must offer the same support and strength to our teachers as we do to these movements. It’s time for America to stand up with the teachers of this country, who have the most important position on the planet, and recognize the vital role they play in impacting our children’s lives and help them grow. It’s time for us to realize the value of our teachers and give them the support and appreciation they deserve, for far too long we have undermined the role teachers play on our children and its time to make that change. I encourage every adult, parent or not, to reach out to your child’s teacher(s) and let them know they are appreciated. I encourage our society to take a stand and start to value our teachers like we value our law enforcement, political parties, professional sports, etc.
To close, I would like to say to the teachers of America that you are appreciated and your value to this country and planet is greater than you think. Keep being the stepping stone that you are. I speak for the country when I say, you have the most important position on this planet and your value is infinite, we love the work you do for us.
Corbin Garcia
Student at the Texas State University in San Marcos
