By Gretchen Huesmann
Sitting among my four-year-old students, I heard, “It’s a good day to be a teacher.”
“What did you say?” I asked. The child pressed her fingers into soft pink clay and repeated, “It’s a good day to be a teacher.” I couldn’t quite agree.
Like most teachers returning from break, I longed for pajamas and coffee until noon. She grabbed a cookie cutter and added, “Someday I want to be a teacher.”
Like the butterflies she shaped, her words settled into my heart. My student knew nothing of teacher burnout or growing exodus from classrooms.
Yet, she spoke truth. It is a good day to be a teacher, isn’t it?
The Reality Behind Classroom Doors
As summer ends, thousands of teachers return with trepidation.
Concerns include, “How will my class be?” “Can I handle the parents?” “Why am I still doing this?” Today’s teachers witness extreme behavioral issues and face safety concerns.
They welcome children with addicted parents and incarcerated family members. I know one administrator who purchased car seats for a student and her baby sister. A week later, the seats were sold, most likely for drugs. Despite these challenges, steadfast educators persist for one reason—the children.
Beyond Token Appreciation
Parents search for teacher gifts throughout the year.
Although welcomed, these tokens do little to encourage educators on difficult days.
Here are four recommendations to support our classroom heroes:
1. Find Strength in Faith:
Christian educators do not labor alone. Christ accompanies every believing teacher, providing strength, patience, and wisdom.
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you” (Isaiah 41:10 NIV). This message permeates It’s a Good Day to Be a Teacher: 52 Devotions to Equip and Encourage Educators, reminding teachers help is available.
2. Build Up Our Educational Leaders:
Teachers need more than pats on the back. They desire to be seen and heard by parents, administrators, and the community.
God exhorts us in 1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV), “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” When conflicts occur, demonstrate trust in teachers until proven otherwise.
Support with resources to relieve financial stress. This builds and sustains educational leaders.
3. Foster Grace-Filled Communication:
When crises arise, intense emotions and angry emails fly. Instead, “Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Colossians 4:6 NIV).
Commit to open communication. Allow emotions to settle before emailing, and resist venting on social media.
4. Provide the Power of Prayer Support:
When my children attended school, moms committed to praying for staff. We adhered to Ephesians 6:18 (NIV), “… always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
We compiled teachers’ prayer requests and added petitions for safety, truth-filled lessons, and for God to draw students to himself. Let’s pray for those influencing future generations. Teachers possess limited time and energy for students’ lives.
By fostering environments where educators feel valued, we encourage them to continue with renewed dedication. Perhaps then they will agree it is a good day to be a teacher.
Gretchen Huesmann is a career educator and author of “It’s a Good Day to Be a Teacher”. Her work appears in Hope-Full Living Devotions and International School Project.
