In order to have a career, a life, a living, and an education, there need to be teachers. Why is it that we value a doctor more than the person who taught us how to read, to write, to speak? Without these people, there would be no careers.

There would be chaos even more than there is because teachers value their students. They love them, and they are someone that is constant. Not everyone is privileged to have a structured family. People in foster care, who have lost everything, value their teachers. These kids look forward to going to school because they know that someone cares for them.

Teachers are more than a chalkboard and content. They are supporters, leaders, motivators, and above all else, they are fighters. They bear the weight of late nights and paperwork that comes without a paycheck. However, they are receiving back-handed compliments and less than what they deserve. Yet, they still show up to school because they aren’t selfish. They do it for the students, not for the pay.

No one can say that they weren’t impacted by a teacher. If you say you weren’t, you are lying. Your ability to read this article is proof enough that a teacher impacted your life. Isn't it required to attend school until you are old enough to drop out? Then, why isn't the people who keep education running not in higher regard? Compared to other countries, the United States disregards teachers. In other countries, teachers are respected the most because of what they do, and their pay shows for it. The education systems show for it.

You might be wondering how I have the authority or nerve to write this. Well, first, my mother is a teacher. Also, I graduated third in my class in high school with a perfect GPA and thirty hours of college credit completed. I was state president of HOSA Future Health Professionals. I was in both National Honors Society and French National Honors Society. I was a Youth Salute, a Governors Scholar, and a proud student.

I don’t say these things to brag about myself, but to show how impacted I was by education. My teachers believed in me, and they showed me the beauty in valuing your mind. They pushed me, and without them, I wouldn’t have the drive to continue my education and become a nurse. I wouldn’t have worked so hard to gain scholarships. I wouldn’t know what it took to be successful.

Not only did they nurture my mind, but they nurtured my heart. When I was injured, sick, or depressed, they were the ones that noticed. It wasn’t my peers that acted to help me or pray for me. It was the teachers that saw me every day and knew that I was meant for something more.

It was the teachers that molded me into the person I am today, and it breaks my heart to see how they are treated.

Why cut salaries or retirement from teachers when they aren’t replaceable? You have to have teachers. Without them, we would be nothing. We wouldn’t be country because the leaders that we have all have an education. They all were impacted by teachers. However, teachers are put on the back burner, but they still go to work.

They teach.

They support.

They motivate.

They strive.

They change lives.

They fight.

Yet, they are called selfish. They are called ungrateful.

It isn’t the teachers that are selfish and ungrateful, it is the politicians that are not valuing the very people who gave them the ability to be in office.

I stand by teachers because they stood by me.