Real Heroes

There has been a lot of discussion in class about the number of people who have been changing their minds about becoming a teacher. This is something that I think about every single day, and I recently had a conversation with my roommate about it. I told her that I was unsure if becoming a teacher would allow me to reach my full potential and help others to do the same. She didn’t have the answers, and her opinion mattered more than it should have. This worries me because I know there are future teachers out there asking the same questions as me and letting their peers, parents, the negative media, and horror stories from the classroom influence their decisions. Before writing this post, I was planning on finding an example of teachers being viewed negatively in the media and talking about why this would be a turn off to someone who plans to teach. However, my friend on Facebook posted an article of a letter written by a mother of one of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre to the teachers of America and I just had to share it with you all.

 (http://mychannel957.com/mother-of-sandy-hook-victim-write-powerful-letter-to-teachers/) This letter was written in honor of all teachers, and it is one of the most powerful and inspirational letters I have ever read. The mother, Nebla Marquez, says to “have faith that your hard work is having a profound impact on your students.” This might be hard to believe since we are not in the classroom teaching yet, but I’m sure everyone can picture that one teacher who did have a profound impact on us. For Nebla’s son, it was his teacher at Sandy Hook. His teacher’s courage supported a child who has “lived through traumas no child should have to.” I hope no one ever has to experience the same trauma that was Sandy Hook, but students will be suffering from something in their lives, whether it is a broken home, a learning disability or something even worse. They will be impressionable and need a “welcoming environment where students feel connected.” Kids need teachers who are caring, brave, and ready to show, not only information, but show them love and happiness. Nebla says, “You will have kids facing long odds for whom your smile, your encouraging word, and your willingness to go the extra mile will provide the comfort and security they need to try again tomorrow.” Now, if that doesn’t make you feel like your teaching job is important, then I don’t know what will!

I wish everyone would read this letter, especially anyone who is planning to become a teacher or has been considering it but is unsure. This kind of positive representation of teachers is what the media needs more of and what more people need to see. I took finding this letter as a huge sign that I am doing the right thing for myself and my society when I get up in the morning to go to my education classes; and that I will be doing the right thing when I graduate and apply for a teaching position. Hopefully as teachers, we never have to physically save a child whose life is in serious danger, like the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary. However, we will have to save kids in other ways. I completely agree with Nebla when she says, “When you Google “hero,” there should be a picture of a principal, a school lunch worker, a custodian, a reading specialist, a teacher, or a bus monitor. Real heroes don’t wear capes. They work in America’s schools.”