The Alberta Teachers’ Association

These people are our teachers

Editor’s note: The following Facebook entry (March 4, 2013) is reprinted with permission of parent Jennifer Marcotte. The original text has been edited to conform to ATA style and for content and length.

Dear Government of Alberta,

Every single day, I drop my children off at school and put them in the hands of someone else for the next seven hours. Truth be told, these people spend more time with my children in waking hours than I do. These people have chosen to spend their days educating our future leaders. They have devoted their lives to the betterment of knowledge, learning and teaching. These people give their time as mentors, coaches and friends. These people go to work early; they come home late. They work weekends. They pay expenses out of their own pockets in the best interest of other people’s children. Their days are never their own; their thoughts are always with the children they teach.

These are the people who stand in front of ill-mannered children and who reach out to them instead of drawing back. These people take backtalk; they take abuse. They take heckling and taunting and dig deep within themselves to love their students and make them better.

These people wrap themselves around children, coaxing them to grow, move forward, excel, achieve and to be.

Every day.
My child.
Your child.
Their children.

These people are our teachers. They are teachers by choice. They are parents by heart.

I have heard many times: “You get what you pay for.” When it comes to our teachers, dear Government, I ask you to tread lightly. Who else will teach our children what we have failed to teach? Ask parents what monetary value they would attach to teachers’ work and you will see it is the popular opinion that they are grossly underpaid. Do your homework, Government, and ask the working folk to work the hours a teacher does for the same pay. Ask teachers to do even more and they’ll shrug and say: “Okay, as long as it’s for the kids.”

My kid.
Your kid.
Their kids.

These people are our teachers. Where would you be without them? Where would your child be without them?

Respect. You learned it. A teacher (most likely) taught you how to spell the word, what it means, and how to have some.

Signed,
A tax-paying citizen of Alberta