I went to a small rural school in Upstate New York. It was a K-12 public school that had approximately 500 kids attending for my 13 years there. My mom attended the same school when she was growing up and went on to teach there. She has now been teaching there for over 20 years. I have seen adults approach my mom in the grocery store, wrapping their arms around her and explaining to their children that she was one of their beloved and favorite teachers. This small act never ceases to amaze me, and the light it brings to my mother's eyes lets me know she feels the same way.
People often wonder how teachers act at home. Even though my mom was a teacher, I still remember the amazement I would feel as a young girl seeing my teachers in public out of the brick building I spent weekdays in. I still see this surprise on the faces of 6 to 10 year olds as they break from their parents' holds in the grocery store and sprint to my mother. What is it about seeing a great teacher out of the classroom that is always so surprising?
Spending countless hours after school in my mother's classroom, the answer to this couldn't be any more obvious. The best teachers make their classrooms seem like home. They belong in their rooms just as much as they do at home. Getting groceries seems absurd compared with going through the spelling list each Monday.
I have no doubt in my mind that I am where I am today is in part because I am a teacher's daughter. But it isn't what you think. It isn't because I had a leg up on everyone. I did the same homework everyone else did. I spent the same amount of time on my homework. My mother didn't make me practice multiplication tables for fun or only give me educational games for Christmas. I didn't receive any awards throughout school I didn't deserve. In fact, I feel I worked harder for some of them.
It wasn't educational lessons my 'teacher parent' taught me that made me successful. It was the lessons she taught me at home. It was the lessons she had learned from watching other children. Even though I am the oldest child in my family, my mother was already experienced at raising kids. She taught me from a young age to be kind to others. She taught me to share and to be patient. She taught me how to listen and how to be respectful. As I grew older, she taught me silent lessons. I watched how she spent hours working at school after her paid time was over. I watched as even after the extra hours, she brought work home each night. I watched as she bought food and made treats and goody bags for her schoolchildren on the holidays, even though they were the craziest times for her. I watched as she stayed up later than I did in high school, getting around two hours of sleep some nights. My mother, my teacher parent, taught me what hard work is. She taught me what dedication is. What love is. She taught me that sometimes life is thankless, but you have to make yourself proud.
For those who say teacher's kids have a step up, that it's unfair, that we have it easy, I'd say you're right. But, not for the reasons you think. My teacher-parent taught me the most important things in life. She taught me love, generosity and determination.
The woman who to most is a teacher, is my mother. While she has taught countless lessons in her classroom, on her chalkboard, to white board, to smart board, she has taught me even more without the lecture.
Thank you to all of the teacher-parents out there, for making all of your children successful, from schoolchildren to your families.
