Dear Maine West Teachers… A Letter of Thanks

Dear Maine West Teachers,
It isn’t often that we students stop and look beyond our own worlds. We get stuck on the trivial, and, at the end of the day, we spend time managing what we need to get done. We focus on ourselves and leave little time to think beyond our own bubble of existence. But, when we do step beyond ourselves, we realize how lucky we are to have you: hardworking educators that have totally flipped around the natural order of teaching. You’ve been forced onto screens, behind strange cameras that have a habit of zooming in on your face. Some of you are coming into school, others of you have to be home to take care of your children. Yet, you are still giving us your all. You wake up early while many of us are still sleeping. You have your cameras on despite often having to teach to a screen of black squares. You are holding office hours for students who need help. How much more proof do we need to see how much you care about us? With all you are doing for us during this time, we can see you are truly dedicated to our success. We students don’t often remember that you have your own lives and families, with worries and fears of your own, and that is our own oblivious and self-focused fault. You have so much more to manage than we do. You may be fending off a pack of hungry grade schoolers while trying to teach us over the computer. You may have a dog that won’t stop barking and makes any zoom calls a risk for people’s eardrums. In short, you don’t have it easy! When you chose a career in teaching, this wasn’t what you had in mind. This time is not ideal for education, and we understand how frustrating that can be. But, what you really need to know is this: we students see you and appreciate you. We would really be floundering if it weren’t for your smiling faces doing your best to help us learn and make it fun. Though it’s hard to say how much longer this separated learning will last, please remember that we are lucky to have you.
Sincerely,
The Westerner Editors
Leave a Reply