Here's Why Public School Teachers Are Amazing—and Why They Deserve to Be Celebrated and Defended

It’s Teacher Appreciation Week.For some parents, that might mean running out to the store for a few token gifts for their children’s teachers, maybe picking up a gift card or writing a little note of thanks.For other parents, it may be a week they are unaware of or simply choose not to respond to.For me, it’s sharing this piece in the hopes that it reminds everyone who cares for the welfare of the children of this nation, just what a treasure our public school teachers are, and how much we depend upon them.Our daughter has a final exam tomorrow for her AP History class (one she’s understandably stressed about), and a series of texts arrived from her teacher (whom I’ll call Mr. G). We and she have received such messages all year long, but this one really hit me, especially given the days in which we’re living.As I read them, I thought to myself: this is someone who clearly loves their job, someone who takes their work seriously but approaches it joyfully. This is an ordinary human being doing extraordinary good.Here’s the text chain in its entirety, as it was written by Mr. G.:PART 1: A few thoughts for tomorrow's exam:1) I am super proud of ALL my students in ALL classes. This class was not an easy task, but everyone showed up each day ready to learn and to take on the challenge of a hyper-fast-paced college course. I beam when talking to others about my 95 rockstars :-) 2) Be to school by 11-11:15 & Go to the Aux gym. They can enter through the front office. 3) Bring: Chromebook, charger, FRUIT to eat as a snack4) A paper with your AP Classroom Username & passwordPART 2:TO DO:- Walk outside- Laugh... a lot- Hugs/human contact- Maybe 20-30 min of light review. No more than that. Play around with AP Classroom or Bluebook. Recall the process of how to MCQ/DBQ/LEQ. Look at standards (practice putting things in context)- Hydrate- Relax- SleepDO NOT:- Cram. The hard work is done. The process of reading/writing matters more than knowledge memorization.- Stay up late.- Eat tons of sugar.- Stress. The Exam is a game. One benchmark of many. Everything to gain, nothing to lose. (You're about to get your life back!)PART 3:The hero & the coward feel the same way before the battle. The difference is what they do once the action starts.Parents, I cannot express enough how incredibly proud I am. You should be, too. (Make sure to tell them that, even if they have heard it from you 100 times before). They have worked SO hard under intense conditions (snow days, fire alarms, other interruptions) to be ready for tomorrow. I cannot wait to see how they do and to celebrate the culmination of their hard work. (I will have trouble focusing tomorrow afternoon until 4:00).(end of text)This is just one example of something replicated hundreds of thousands of times across this nation.Amazing human beings are doing this beautiful, life-altering, destination-changing work all over America, and they deserve to be celebrated. More importantly, they deserve to be defended.In a time when public school teachers are woefully underpaid, chronically underappreciated, and tragically under attack by this Administration, it’s more important than ever that we support them with gifts and cards, yes, but with our advocacy and our presence. We need to be present at PTA events, school board meetings, and the rooms where legislation impacting them is being proposed.We can’t let our teachers carry the burden of educating, nurturing, and caring for our children while also having to justify their worth, beg for essential teaching materials, and fight for their jobs. To Mr. G., and to all those who spend their days doing the most critical work one can do and doing with with resilience, creativity, and with joy, thank you.The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnpavlovitz.substack.com/subscribe