I've had an idea. You know how we (and maybe that's too general, but I'm going to assume you're on my side) constantly lament how teachers are not given enough credit for the job they do? Not just pay, but the way we look at the profession itself. As a society, we see teachers really as glorified babysitters, and sometimes not even glorified. Yesterday the Trueb popped out of nowhere with, "I am so glad Mrs. Ritchie is my teacher." My first instinct was to agree and say, "Me too. She is really nice." But then I had this weird epiphany. What is the first thing you ask your kid about the first day of school? "Do you like your teacher? Is she nice?" And we communicate with our kids on the level of whether or not they like the teacher, how nice/not nice she is. So, unintentionally, but surely, we are raising our kids connecting good teaching with being nice and when some of those kids become congresspeople and legislate for our country, they are thinking in their heads about all the nurturing, kind, supportive people watching kids all day. And isn't that just a subconscious step away from babysitter?
I replied to Em, "Yeah. She seems like she has a bunch of good ideas. I'll bet she can teach you a lot." My brilliant girl agreed with me and detailed a couple things she felt she had already learned from her.
Maybe I'm overthinking this. Maybe our country has more respect for teachers than I think. Maybe I actually am a glorified babysitter. But just in case I'm right, next time you almost ask your kids if they like their teachers, try asking them what they are learning from them instead. Let's see what happens.
