Teachers

"I don’t think I’ll be a teacher forever, maybe a couple more years. I don’t think my heart can take it."  ---Fifth Grade Teacher

I recently met with a number of teachers who were struggling to meet the challenges they were facing in their schools.  The dilemma was that students came to school with numerous personal problems ranging from violence, lack of food, addictions, sexual abuse and poverty (among others) and these problems were not being addressed.  School administrations focus on literacy and mathematics.  So how can we bridge the gap?  Training quality school counsellors and psychologists that understand the needs of the students and are able to respond in a way that encourages personal as well as educational growth is a good start, but most importantly we need to realize that teachers are much more than sources of curriculum.  In the eyes of our children teachers are often the first place to turn.  TJS