Lisa with one of her former 5th grade students, Adriana, a violinist and music major at the University of Central Oklahoma for her Junior Recital (April 2023).
My wife, Lisa, is a 6th grade English Language Arts teacher and has been teaching for 29 years at the same school in Oklahoma City. After all this time, there is still a gleam in her eyes when she talks about her students. There is still a pep in her step as she leaves for school in the morning. So, you see, I have a front row seat and a daily reminder of how special teachers truly are.
As a twice renewed National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT), Lisa is committed to providing her students with an environment in which they can grow academically and acquire meaningful habits of mind that will serve them well in life. In addition to her teaching duties, Lisa is also passionate about being a teacher leader and supporting both new and experienced teachers. Her contributions were recently recognized as she was selected as one of nine finalists for 2023 Teacher of the Year for Oklahoma City Public Schools. I’m so proud of her achievements and endless contributions to her students.
There is an adage: “Kids don’t care what you know, until they know how much you care.” As a district superintendent, deputy education commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, and even now in my role as an education consultant, I have visited hundreds of classrooms. For each visit, that sentiment rings loudly in my mind. Within moments of walking through the doors of a classroom, the quality of the teacher standing before me will crystallize into focus. Of course, I am armed with rubrics and standards, but my key “look-for” is always the level of student engagement and teacher expectations for students. I am pleased and proud that most visits affirm my beliefs as to how much teachers do indeed care about their students.
The elevated level of teacher dedication and commitment is also apparent in their demands for equity and inclusion in public education. Across the country, teachers are taking on the role of advocates and change-makers in their districts, serving as leaders in the ongoing work of bringing about sustainable change in the efforts to close the education gap.
All of this is on top of the evolving demands that encompass teaching, including those that surfaced in the aftermath of COVID-19. Though the pandemic directed the nation towards a new-found appreciation for the challenging work teachers do daily, it leaves in its path a new consequence for teachers to face, student mental health. The American Psychological Association describes kid’s mental health as a crisis. Good teachers throughout the nation are clamoring to find out how they can help students in a meaningful way. It is just another example of how special teachers truly are.
While the challenges before teachers today are unlike anything the profession has experienced in the past, I am confident that this group of professionals is up for the challenge, not because they must, but because they care too much to stand by idly. That is why this week especially, it is important to show our support, love, and appreciation for teachers. And for those of us lucky enough to have one of our own at home, it is a wonderful time to shower them with their favorite things and show them how much we care.
“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.” – Albert Einstein