National Teacher Day

I heard on the radio that today is National Teacher Day. I didn't know there was one.

When I began teaching high school English (after a stint with middle school reading)
in 1962, I wanted to teach like the teachers I loved. Trouble was, they were all college professors. Most of the teachers I had in public school were mediocre at best. The ones in high school who really challenged me were math and history teachers. Who knows why I became an English teacher? I lasted only three years in the classroom until I got smart and decided my gift lay in library science. Librarians have the best of both worlds--they get to teach, give book advice, and then see the class leave to go back to the classroom.

As a librarian I got to see each teacher in the school in action. Not all teachers are wonderful; not all should be in the classroom; however, most public schools have far more excellent teachers than they deserve with the pay scale offered. It was one of my goals to try to make the teachers better by giving them the absolutely best materials available and resources on how to use them. I hope I helped some.

One of the best descriptions of teachers of all kinds I have found:

Come to the edge, he said.
They said: We are afraid.
Come to the edge, he said.
They came.
He pushed them,
and they flew.

Guillaume Apollinaire

Think kindly of a teacher you had today and thank God.