Thank a teacher

As a teacher’s kid, the Fourth of July marked the beginning of the end of summer.

It was at that point every summer, that my mom, who teaches English and language arts, would start uttering the infamous words, “I need to go to school to get my classroom ready.” 

Any child who has grown up with a teacher in their household knows what that means. 

It means summer is over, and you will be spending the next several weeks in that person’s classroom hanging posters, moving tables (multiple times because they decided that the first place they put it really was probably the best place for it to be), cleaning white boards, wiping down desks, and, my least favorite task, unloading the lockers.

When I was young, I was excited to go to school with my mom. My sister and I would load up in mom’s car with a bag full of snacks and toys to keep us entertained throughout the day. 

Each morning, we would receive strict instructions to stay in her classroom, ration the snacks because, ‘that is all you have for the day,’ and be nice to each other. 

In between professional development trainings or on breaks, mom would come back to her room and work on making lesson plans for the first few weeks of school, making copies, sorting books or any other number of tasks. 

On days when mom didn’t have training, my sister and I were enlisted to help move desks, wipe off her whiteboards, prepare her first day of school packets and other tasks that were suitable for elementary age children. 

When I got older, we stopped packing the bag full of snacks and toys, but we would still load up in the car to head off to work at school decorating bulletin boards, hanging posters, decorating her door or running books from one classroom to another. 

As I grew up, the words, “I need to go to school to get my classroom ready,” stopped eliciting a feeling of excitement and it was replaced with a feeling of dread. 

Now that I no longer get to spend the month of July helping mom in her classroom, I realize how much I miss it. 

This year is the first year that I have been unable to spend even a single day helping mom prepare her classroom. 

While she has been working at school for several weeks, I have been working here at the paper. 

It’s strange to think, but I miss unloading lockers. 

Teachers often spend so much time working towards the end of summer preparing their classroom for your children that they don’t get to spend as much time as they, or their children would like, with their own kids. 

As an adult, I recognize how precious those moments were spending time together working in mom’s classroom. 

By Aug. 1, teachers have most likely given up several weeks, if not an entire month, at home with their families.

Since school will be starting in just a few days, or weeks for some, take a minute to thank a teacher for sacrificing a part of their summer to ensure that your child has a great school year.