My middle sister is an elementary teacher in Putnam County, WV. The County’s schools were recently ranked as the top for graduation rates in the state. Congratulations!
I come from a family of teachers: two aunts, two cousins, a nephew, and a sister-in-law, as well as my sister in West Virginia (my oldest sister also teaches GED classes in Maryland). I teach college.
One thing I have learned is that great education is more than graduation rates and test scores. Moreover, great teachers are more than graduation rates and test scores. The success of a school and its teachers are not graduation rates and test scores. The value of a great teacher is not seen often until the next generation of students. A high school (a college) diploma is little more than a piece of paper if it does not come with the immeasurable skills that cannot (are not) tested on a standardized test.
The valuable teacher is the teacher who teaches his or her students to think critically, to challenge ideas and concepts, and to be creative. Personal–and national–growth and success come when the educated can not only recite facts but can create new knowledge and progress ideas.
Teaching is hard. Teaching well is harder. There is, however, no more important profession.
Education should be a seed of discovery and not measured by the degree to which a student matches established “standard”. Success in education is the unlocking of each child’s potential—the degree to which the system brings out the (extra)ordinary in every child.
God bless our teachers and the work they do!
Be your best today; be better tomorrow.
Carpe momento!