~for teachers everywhere~

A quick look at the calendar on the refrigerator this afternoon is telling me one thing and that one thing is this.  It's time to get serious about getting school things prepared.

Happy August 1st everyone out there!

The 2015-16 school year begins for real on August 24th here in our part of the world.  Teachers go back on the 17th for a weeklong time of preparation prior to the students' arrival in class on that very first Monday.  All over the place, not just in north central Texas, educators are already either starting or well into the preparations for their upcoming year.  They are spending their own money to buy supplies, giving up precious moments of their summertime vacation, and always thinking of ways to make things better for their students and classrooms.  

Education has been my career choice for nearly 4 decades now.  It is strange for me to even realize that this school year shall be called "2015-16".  My first one was such a long time ago now and I'm sure when I wrote on forms that the school year was "1979-80" that the very thought I'd still be at it 38 years later really didn't enter my mind.  I'm thankful and extremely grateful for the chance once again to enter into a classroom.  I never take it for granted that I will have a job from year to year.  Only a foolish educator would believe that.  There are budget cuts aplenty in the world of education but rather than worry about whether or not we will have a secure job in the future, most of us just continue on and do the very best we can each and every school day.  

Today I am using this blog post to advocate for the needs of teachers everywhere and how people just like you all can do some simple things to help make the school year go much more smoothly.  If you happen to be reading this and feel so inclined, here are some ways that you can help us.  

We use up a lot of supplies on a daily basis and even though we do our best to be good stewards of them, sometimes the reality is that we run out.  Plain and simple.  We just don't have enough to go around.  In my case, the two items that I run out of quicker than any others are dry erase markers and sticky notes.  Other teachers have told me that they can't keep enough pencils and erasers on hand for the kids to use.  By about February, after a couple of bouts of the flu/and or/ colds, the kleenex situation is usually in dire straights.  Going along with that, hand sanitizer and wet wipes soon follow suit.  The list is endless.

So if you should happen to be in the store and wander across the school supply aisle, from time to time perhaps you could pick up one or two things to share with your child's teacher or a teacher anywhere.  Stick a note of encouragement in the bag with them.  Chances are really good that it will make that teacher's day about 100% better.  You'd be surprised what a $3.99 package of glue sticks or a couple of extra boxes of kleenex can do for a teacher's morale.

Classrooms can always use parent and community volunteers and helpers.  I'm always happy to see a mother, father, or grandparent visit their child's room at school.  It's really heartwarming to see them reading with children or talking to them about their work.  What better way is there to show those students how much you care about what happens each school day?  Folks from the community or even the local world of business are also needed.  It doesn't matter that you don't have a child in that class or school.  It doesn't matter if you even have any children at all.  What counts is this.

"You only need to meet one criterion in order to step into a classroom to help.  You must love children."

And finally, if you are inclined to do so, please include us in your prayers each day.  Those daily petitions on our behalf and those that are offered for the children are what help to get us through the school year.  The world is not always a happy place and most assuredly not always a safe one.  There are troubles everywhere you look.  99.99999% of teachers are there for one reason and one reason only.  They are there to help, love, nurture, and teach children.  There are beginning teachers, ones that have been there long enough to say they are 20 year veterans, and ones like me who figure that retirement is not all that it is said to be.  We all work together over 175 days each year and even beyond and do you know something?

"We really need you!  Perhaps more than you can even imagine."

And by the way, if you could read this post be sure to say "thank you" to a teacher.

So many good folks helped that little blue eyed girl that I used to be along life's way.  Most of them were nameless and simply people who saw the need and stepped in to take care of it.  To all of them, strangers and those I knew alike, I give my sincere thanks.