What Teachers Make

I have been SO busy…I can’t even remember it all to write down here any more.  And I am missing you all so much because I have been unable to get here and keep up with you all.  I do miss my time here and all my faves….the whole ‘diary thing’.  I just gotta get better organized soon!

In the meantime – a little teacher rant I love.  Hug a teacher today, OK?  (Anyone wishing to deliver hugs to me personally and in real life will be gratefully welcomed  *grins*)

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life. One man,  a CEO, decided to explain "the problems with education." He argued, "What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher? Haven’t you heard: Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach"?

To further stress his point, he said to another guest, "You’re a teacher, Bonnie.  Be honest; what do you really make, in a classroom, teaching?" 

 Bonnie, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness, replied, "You want to know what I make? (She paused for a second, then began…)

"Well, I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.

I make a C+ feel like the Medal of Honor.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of class time when their parents can’t make them sit for 5 minutes…without an IPod, Game Cube or movie rental…

You want  to know what I make?" (She paused again and looked at each and every person at the table.)

I make kids wonder.

I make them question.

I make them criticize constructively.

Or…I make them apologize and mean it.

I make them have respect and take responsibility for their actions.

I teach them to write and then I make them write.

I make them read, read, read.

I make them show all their work in math.

I make my students from other countries learn everything they need to know  in English, while preserving their unique cultural identities.

I make my classroom a place where all my students feel safe.

I make my students stand to say the Pledge of Allegiance to the American Flag, because we all live in the United States of America.

Finally, I make them understand that if they use the gifts they were given,

work hard, and follow their hearts, they can succeed in life.

(Bonnie paused one last time and then brought her captive audience to the crunch of her response.) "Then, when people try  to judge me by what I make, I can hold my head up high and pay no attention because they are ignorant.  Do you really you want to know what I make?

I MAKE A DIFFERENCE.  In truth, teachers make every other profession.

Mr. CEO, who made you…many teachers, right? Now, Sir, what do you make?"