I believe school has officially started everywhere. Even our little Jackson started Mother's Day Out this week. For the last couple of weeks, everywhere I shopped was filled with excited children and broke, exhausted parents. They were buying school clothes, school supplies and school shoes. An entire column could be written about those school shoes! I'm grateful for boys after all. They just need a new pair of tennis shoes and they were ready to go.
I would like for just a moment to address the teachers who also began school this month. They are probably not nearly as excited as their young charges! I no longer have a student at home, but I did for many years. I wonder, dear teachers, if you realize what an important part you will play in many children's lives this year? Your time with them may be short, but your influence is profound. Each of you will have a job to do this year dictated by state requirements, Principal mandates and established lesson plans. There will be tests that measure the success of your teaching methods and styles. You will receive notes of gratitude and complaining phone calls. However, there is another area where your success will not be so easily measured. How can one clearly tally the effect you have on the heart of a child you teach? Who will make note of the smile you greet them with each morning? Who takes into account the hours you spend encouraging a child who receives no encouragement at home? Who will notice when you take interest in a child the rest of the world has labeled a lost cause?
I saw a sign out in front of a church one day that read, "God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called". I have found much joy in the ways many teachers have invested in my children. My boys are better people because of the jobs those teachers were called to do. Write a note this week to encourage a teacher.
