Tribute to teachers

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops" - Henry Adams.

"The future of the world is in my classroom today, a future with the potential for good or bad. Several future presidents are learning from me today; so are the great writers of the next decades, and so are the so-called ordinary people who will make the decisions in a democracy. I must never forget these young people could be the thieves and murderers of the future. Only a teacher? Thank God I have a calling to the greatest profession of all! I must be vigilant every day, lest I lose one fragile opportunity to improve tomorrow." – Iwan Welton Firtzwater




How much do you make?

A group of dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life over coffee. One man, a CEO, decided to rationalize the world's problems from an education standpoint. "What's a kid going to learn from someone who has decided that their best option in life was to become a teacher?"

He declared to the other dinner guests, that in his opinion, what was said about teachers was true, "Those who can: they do. Those who cannot: they teach."
In an attempt to justify monetary worth, the CEO then challenged one fo the other guests, "You're a teacher, Susan, be honest. What do you make?"

Susan replied calmly, "Do you really want to know what I make?"

"I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I can make a C+ feel like an Honoarary Scholarship, and an A- feel like a slap in the face if the student didn't do his or her very best.

"I can make kids sit through 40 minutes of concentrated study in absolute silence. I can also make their parent tremble in fear when I phone them at home.
"I make kids write. I make them read, read and then read some more. I make kids wonder. I make them question. I make them criticize. I make them apologize and mean it.

"I make them spell 'definitely' and 'privilege' over and over again until they never misspell either of these words again. I make them show all their workings in math, and hide it all on their final drafts in English.

"I elevate them to experience music, the arts and joy in performance, so that their lives are rich, full of kindness and culture. I make children take pride in themselves and their accomplishments.

"I also make them understand that if you have the brains, then you can follow your heart. And if someone ever judge you by how much you earn, you pay them no attention.

"You would like to know what I make? I make a difference. Tell me, what do you make?"