Those, Who Can, Teach

It has always been most frustrating listening to someone who has never taught a day in their life make the following statement.

Those, who can, do, and those, who can’t, teach. 

This statement could not be more inaccurate and more insulting to the tremendous people who commit their lives to serving children. Here’s the deal; the statement above is completely false. Teachers don’t know the word, can’t. You know why? It’s because they don’t like failure at all, and they like excuses even less. Furthermore, teachers can and they do make a difference because they take full responsibility for every student that walks through their doors regardless of issue, background, disability or zip code. Teachers do what few can do. 

For those who truly don’t understand what it takes to be in the profession, let me ask you a few questions. 

• Can you motivate and inspire 25 students for 6 hours per day every day?
• Can you teach kids while also serving as their mother, father, counselor, friend, and sounding board?
• Can you prepare every student to perform successfully under the highest standards in the history of education?
• Can you ensure that all, not some, kids learn and grow?
• Can you do all that even as funding dissipates, benefits erode and retirement looks less and less solvent?

Are you getting my point???

Teachers are the lifeblood of our democracy. Better yet, they hold the future of our democracy in their hands, but here’s the real story. They can and they do all of this without the full support they deserve. 

So What Can We Do?

In this time, we can advocate to our legislators the critical importance of legislating on behalf of all teachers and the education profession as a whole. We can persuade legislators to take meaningful action on their behalf, not just in funding, retirement, and accountability, but also in restoring respect and reverence for the profession. 

Those, who can, teach, and they do it everyday. The question is whether we can and will do more to restore respect and reverence to the profession, so that teachers can do even more for all kids.