Newspaper Page Text
Thursday, May 18, 2000
The Southern Cross, Page 5
A s we were driving down the road, my
friend pointed out a sign on a gift
shop window. It read ‘“Thank you,
Teacher’ Gifts, all under $5.99.” We
laughed about the message implied
in such an ad: “Here’s a trinket in
gratitude for the treasure of an edu
cation.”
Surely, most teachers don’t choose
their profession because of its tangible
rewards. In the teaching field, presents
and paychecks are notoriously meager.
Many bright and talented individuals who would
love to teach choose careers outside education
because more lucrative opportunities are avail
able to them. It’s been said that many students
who major in education are academically weak,
and they choose teaching by default. While that
may be true in some cases, I’m convinced that
most young people who decide to teach do so
out of a strong desire to make a difference. Many
still remember the profound effect teachers had
on their lives. They believe in the nobility of the
profession and are willing to make the necessary
sacrifices in order to pursue what they value and
love.
Call me naive, but I retain a idealistic impres
sion of teachers and their dedication. When you
consider all the challenges teachers face, in addi
tion to the abuse many of them must endure reg
ularly, you have to wonder what, besides pro
found dedication to their profession and a com
mitment to their students, keeps them motivated
to show up for work each day.
With four school-age children, attending ele-
Letters
(Continued from page 4)
peared in The Southern Cross on
March 23. The piece was forwarded
to me by Dr. Edward Cashin of Au
gusta State University, who is Dick
Reid’s nephew. The Cashins for
warded copies to all of our family.
Needless to say, her work brought
back cherished memories to all of
us. Though bom and raised in New
England, Daddy developed very
deep roots in Augusta. He was ded
icated to his work there. His family
had moved there from Winchester,
Massachusetts, and the O’Leary's,
Mother’s family, were “native”
Augustans. All of his children were
bom there and there one was taken
away (Kathleen), lost as a baby to
childhood disease. Mother and
Daddy always referred to Augusta
as home and so many of the names
in your article are familiar to me
(The Bulletin, The Chronicle, The
Herald, Hugh Kinchley, Alfred
Battey, The Catholic Laymen’s
Association, Bishop O’Hara and
others). Both Mother and Daddy
are laid to rest in Westover Memo
rial Park, one on each side of their
baby Kathleen.
Everyday Graces
Thank you, teachers
mentary, middle, and high schools, I’ve had
plenty of opportunity to witness teachers
in action. While I haven’t agreed with
everything that’s occurred in my chil
dren’s classrooms and schools, I
admit that I don’t always have the
answers, and I believe in giving the
teacher the benefit of the doubt. It
seems to me that if more parents were
to adopt such an attitude, we’d all be
better off.
Yet there’s something about educa
tion, particularly in the lower grades, that makes
parents think they are as knowledgeable as the
teachers. As a result, there’s often a profound
lack of respect among parents for the authority
of the teacher and his or her classroom decisions.
Either through ignorance or arrogance, some par
ents do everything in their power to undermine
the teacher’s authority and manipulate classroom
mles to their own children’s advantage. I have
actually known parents to complain to the school
superintendent about an issue as benign as a
teacher assigning “too much” homework.
There’s no question in my mind, that despite
all the negative attention they receive, our teach
ers are performing amazingly well under very
challenging circumstances. I’m also convinced
that students’ poor test scores and poor perfor
mance can more often be linked to weaknesses
within their homes and communities than to
weaknesses within classrooms. That said, I
believe in holding teachers to the highest stan
dards of excellence. But we’ll fail in attempts to
do so until we esteem their positions and pay
them accordingly.
In the meantime, parents can be supportive of
their children’s teachers by adopting a spirit of
cooperation and trust, by not expecting teachers
to bend rules for your child’s sake, and by realiz
ing it’s not always necessary that you and your
child’s teacher see eye to eye. Parents must also
recognize that teachers are human beings. Facing
a classroom of 25 or more vivacious (to put it
nicely) youngsters for hours at a stretch can fraz
zle even the most loving and patient among us.
The contributions a good teacher makes to a
student’s life can never be fully identified. But
judging from the gifts teachers have brought to
my children’s lives, I can name a few: Mrs. G.
has taught the importance of courtesy, commit
ment, and integrity, as well as how to write a
thorough, polished report. Mrs. R. has taught
how to find humor everywhere, how to respect
fully question authority, and how to thoughtfully
explore C. S. Lewis’s novel, The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe. Mrs. L. has taught the advan
tages of teamwork, brainstorming, learning
through trial and error, not to mention how to
find the value of x.
Now that the school year is coming to a close,
after we’ve helped our children select tokens of
appreciation for teachers, parents would do well
to ponder the gifts our children have received
over the last nine months. If we do, we will sure
ly acknowledge our profound gratitude to the
teachers who bestowed them.
Mary Hood Hart lives with her husband and
* 3
four children in Sunset Beach, N.C.
1
I
benefited so much from the sacrifi
cial efforts that built and maintained
our Catholic school system, should
now be so well founded in the faith
that they can be sent forth as a leav
en and Catholic witness within the
population of our public schools
rather than continue to be nurtured
in a protected environment.
This would free up much needed
personnel and resources to tend to
the social and educational needs of
our newly arriving immigrants.
Sadly, however, we Catholics tend
to continue fattening up the already
fat cats, and leave Lazarus and his
children to be satisfied with the
crumbs from our table.
The mandate of the Lord still
sounds forth strong and clear: “Go
forth to teach the nations.” While
not turning our back on our own, we
are to love our neighbor, not only as
we love ourselves, but as Christ
Jesus himself loves them. His heart
always seems to have a special place
for those most in need.
Rev. Michael H. Smith, V.F.
Pastor, Holy Redeemer Church,
McRae and Saint Mark, Eastman,
Coordinator of Hispanic Ministry
We thank her for this fine and
thoughtful remembrance of our
father and his work. We especially
appreciate the fact that we can share
these memories with his grandchil
dren and great-grandchildren so the
they can know the kind of man he
was and the work that he did.
Tom Reid
East Hampton, New York
***
Dear Editor:
Thank you for the article about
my Dad, Frank Rossiter, in the
April issue of The Southern Cross.
Mrs. DeLorme sounded like she
knew my Dad. He was one of the
finest men I have ever known. Your
paper was published on April 27—
appropriately it is my Mother’s and
my birthday. It was a wonderful
birthday present. We still miss him
very much.
Sue Rossiter Homans
Savannah
***
On Catholic Schools
Dear Editor:
In recent years our Governors
have begun to speak of “two
Georgia’s”—one prosperous and
well educated, the other frequently
lacking in resources and quality
schools. I think that within our state
we also have two Catholic churches.
The church within our urban cen
ters is generally well established
and expanding its Catholic schools.
These schools are now beginning to
educate the grandchildren and great
grandchildren of the original emi
grants for which they were estab
lished.
Meanwhile, a new wave of most
ly Latino Catholic emigrants is
pouring into the rural areas of our
state, as well as into the poorer and
peripheral parts of our cities. These
people and their children are as
much in need of help to adjust to a
new culture and language, and
maintain their Catholic faith in this
very different and heavily
Protestant environment, as were our
forebears.
If we are to be true to our her
itage and are in tune with the heroic
pioneers of Catholic education in
this land, who would be the target
of our educational services now?
It would seem to me that the chil
dren and grandchildren who have
Mary Hood Hart