Heartbreaking...and THANK YOU!

I just read this blog posting.  And I don't know how to respond.  It is a sad, poignantly accurate description of how many teachers feel today.   Her thorough description of her experiences and what has changed her mind about being a teacher is....heartbreaking.  I debated about posting it, except that it is a reflection of many others.  The demoralization of teachers is a theme I hear all the time.  One of my favorite parts of speaking is that I have the opportunity to be positive with teachers, and about teaching. I typically finish with a few minutes reminding my group just how important they are, and of the enormous difference they make in students' lives.  And I can't tell you how many teachers come to me afterward with tears in their eyes saying they really needed to hear that; they haven't heard anything positive in a long time.  I don't know what to say to this blogger, except that I do know she makes a difference.  And the other thing I'm going to do is encourage everyone I know to say thank you to a teacher this week. 

If no one has said that to you lately, please take this as a personal comment from me to you. And if you are a principal, school secretary, assistant principal, teacher assistant, media specialist, or anyone else who works with schools, please sub in your role.  Students cannot succeed without all of you.   Thank you for being a teacher.  Thank you for coming in to work everyday to work with students who have so many needs it seems like you are using a spoon to empty the ocean.  Thank you for smiling, even when you don't feel like it.  Thank you for being patient with students, with parents, with everyone, even when no one is patient with you.  Thank you for still trying something new, because you know you are as much a learner as you are a teacher.  Thank you for choosing to be in a profession where you do not immediately see the difference you make.  Thank you for having faith that what you do will help students, possibly long after they leave you.  Thank you for inspiring a student.  You do make a difference everyday.  Even when you don't feel like it, especially when you don't feel like it.  Our world is a better place because of teachers like you.  Thank you.