Yesterday I received a surprise message in my school email.

Ms. Finley,

I wanted to thank you for the great teaching you provided to R this year.  He was always working on a project and this is what he needs to be a better student.  I know being an excellent teacher increases your work load.  So I wanted you to know that I have appreciated all of your extra work to ensure that R and the other students become better writers and communicators.  I also appreciate you reading over J’s papers when you never even had him in class.  You have gone above and beyond the normal teaching duties and it is has been noticed.  The entire Vianney family is lucky to have you be a part of the staff!  Thanks again and I hope you and your family have a very relaxing summer!

Take care,

Student’s mom

I must have read the email 10 times.  I’ll probably print it out and keep it forever.  It seems small doesn’t it?  But as a high school teacher, there is generally very little thanks.  In the teaching profession there is often very little thanks.  Being a good teacher takes time and yet many people look at the “hours” a teacher is in the classroom (and the bit of time we don’t have to go to school in the summer) and thinks “boy do they have it easy.”  So much of what I do in the classroom, takes hours of prep and research time.   On average I work 60+ hour weeks.  I arrive at school at 7am and often get home close to 5pm.  Then I work after my own kids go to bed at 8pm until about 10:30pm.  So, about a 12 hour work day on average.  I work all summer, reading professional literature to ensure that I am using the most effective practices.  I attend meetings and workshops.  I lesson plan and tweak assignments that didn’t work and read all of the books I’ll teach, again.

So, getting an email from a parent who recognizes that to do my job well, I have to make my own sacrifices.  I assign work that matters (I hope) even if it means more work for me.  That is my job.  That is what I signed up for and I feel very lucky to be able to teach.

For every note like this I get, there are others who question the amount of work (it’s too much) or the level or work (it’s too hard). These interactions with parents are also important, because it gives me an opportunity to explain why I assign what I do and to discuss the realities of life after high school.  I am a professional.  I spend a great deal of my time honing my practice (like Drs do) and ensuring I am doing the best for my students (like Lawyers do for their clients).  It is my job to push my students to reach (or at least) see their potential.

Teaching is often a thankless profession.  If teachers internalize all of the attacks on teachers, then change in education can never happen.  We have to empower teachers to do the right thing.  Good/Great teachers are always learning and always trying new ways to bring learning to students.  They know.  We don’t ask hospital administrators to decide the best way to perform surgery.  We shouldn’t trust politicians with the amazing power to determine how a teacher teaches his/her students.

I am very lucky to work in an environment that values teaching and treats me and all teachers as professionals.  Students thank me regularly upon leaving class (which I still find awesome) and many understand why I push them (even if they would rather just be lazy–but hell they are teen-aged boys).

With all this said, thank your teachers.  A simple note expressing a gratitude for the work they do.  An acknowledgement of the sacrifices they make in their own lives to ensure that your child learns and becomes the best they can be can go a long way.