Teaching Me About Teaching

Charles Blow:

Next week is National Teacher Appreciation Week, and, as far as I'm concerned, they don't get nearly enough.

On Tuesday, the United States Department of Education is hoping that people will take to Facebook and Twitter to thank a teacher who has made a difference in their lives. I want to contribute to that effort. And I plan to thank a teacher who never taught me in a classroom but taught me what it meant to be an educator: my mother.

She worked in her local school system for 34 years before retiring. Then she volunteered at a school in her district until, at age 67, she won a seat on her local school board. Education is in her blood.

Through her I saw up close that teaching is one of those jobs you do with the whole of you -- trying to break through to a young mind can break your heart. My mother cared about her students like they were her own children. I guess that's why so many of them dispensed with "Mrs. Blow" and just called her Mama.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at May 12, 2012 2:44 AM
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