All praise to teachers

Dan Verner
Published: September 1, 2008

Faithful readers of this column will know that once, long ago in a galaxy far away, I was a high school English teacher. Since I retired five years ago, I’ve found that I don’t miss the daily commute, the
meetings, the paperwork, the constant changes in curriculum.

I do miss some of my colleagues, and I miss the students. I think young adults are thoughtful, smart and funny. I know, they dress weirdly sometimes and do dumb things more often than anyone would
like, but they kept me laughing and also guaranteed that I was current on the latest slang so that I was one hep cat. I’m still doing some teaching, in Sunday School and with an ESOL class. I also score
the essay portion of the SAT test so I read plenty of essays that show me what young people are thinking. I believe, though, once a teacher always a teacher, no matter where I go.

I was fortunate to have excellent teachers throughout my school career, ranging from first grade (there was no kindergarten when dinosaurs walked the earth) all the way through grad school. I know a lot
of teachers, ones I met along the way and ones I know now. My oldest daughter Amy has been a fourth-grade teacher for eight years now. I have found that teachers are hard-working, dedicated, funny,
smart, flexible and good-looking. I know, there are bad teachers who shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near a class, but they are a small minority. Most do amazing work under often trying circumstances.

A friend of mine I’ll call John told me one of the saddest stories I’ve ever heard regarding teaching. John’s father was a carpenter among other things with a variety of skills. John helped him frequently, and told me his father was an excellent teacher, always explaining what he was doing and encouraging John to ask questions and find out why things were done the way they were. When his father could no
longer physically do the work he would go tell people what they needed to do. John had an uncle who was an electrician and sometimes took John with him on jobs. On one occasion, John and his uncle
went into a house the uncle was working on, and John asked a question about how the wiring was done in front of the customer. 

After they left the house, John’s uncle chewed him out for, he said, “making me look bad in front of a customer” and told John never to question what he did again. John, of course, was doing what he had
been taught and encouraged to do. When John’s parents found out about this, they told the uncle that John had done nothing wrong.  Sadly, this incident caused a permanent rift between John’s family
and his uncle that endures decades later. The point, though, is that each of us has an opportunity to be a teacher — in fact, each of us is a teacher if we take advantage of what is presented to us.
Parents are a child’s best and earliest teachers, and that list extends to relatives, coaches, friends and beyond.

So, as this school year begins, I want to wish the best to all the teachers out there. You do an important work and I hope for you insight, endurance, energy and a sense of humor as you encounter your
students. 

And I think that the term “teacher” extends to all those who work with students — classroom teachers, specialists, administrators, professors, deans, secretaries, cafeteria workers, bus drivers, coaches,
sponsors, lunch monitors, crossing guards, security guards, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents — anyone and everyone who affects the life of a student.

We are all teachers if we choose to accept that responsibility. Doing so is both a duty and a joy. May it be so for each of us.

Dan Verner is a long-time Manassas resident.