Hug a teacher

As I was growing up, I felt rejected and cursed. Not only was I unpopular, but my mom was a 3rd grade teacher, and my dad a "sub" for junior and high schools.
In elementry school it was commonly believed that I could earn better grades and I felt this enormous pressure coming from teachers and peers alike. Students assumed I got favored treatment (although I spent most recess breaks writing sentences or washing boards) and the teachers encouraged me to do better - acting dissapointed when I didn't live up to their expectations. It soon became obvious to me that if I tried to get better grades I would gain approval of parents and teachers but risk upsetting the other students. And if I got bad grades, I would dissapoint my parents and teachers, but the other students would leave me alone. Or so I believed. I was oblivious to "pecking order" and social hierarchy back then, and felt teachers were to blame for my situation.
In Junior High I learned to hate my mother. I couldn't stand her "3rd grade" humor, didn't want to be seen with her, and didn't want to have anything in common with her. Junior high made me feel much older than elementry kids, and after learning "freedom of thought", I started to rebel and test the limits in my own way. That was when I learned another downside to being raised by teachers - they can be very strict with their own children. This point became more obvious as I exchanged parent stories with other students.
In High School, my life changed. I went to school in a new area and had to make new friends. It's hard to fight a war on two fronts, so I decided to get the teachers on my side. But the more I got to know them, the more I got to like them - and the more I felt sorry for them. I started to understand how difficult and important their jobs really were. I learned to respect them (or at least most of them) and somehow I found myself protecting them whenever possible. Of course, embarassing stories about my strict "subbing" dad often made way to my ears, but they didn't prevent me defending as well as idolizing the man.
Today I love my Mom and Dad, and understand how hard it must have been for them back then. (Adulthood tends to do that to a person). Teaching isn't very glamorous, is sometimes too restricted by less intelligent laws or board decisions, is almost always underpaid, and rarely earns so much as a "thank you". But despite this, teachers have been and will always be.
Teachers teach us, challenge us, inspire us, and open our minds to new ideas. They remind us of the past, help us understand the present, and prepare us for the future. They give us a glimpse of the world and life, and encourage us to find our own place, our own raison d'être. On top of that - they teach acceptable social behavior and rules, often playing a more active role in parenting than the parents themselves.
I feel sickened by the way teachers are treated today by students, parents, and by the US government. Back in my days, we sometimes tried to embarass the teacher while some of the seedier elements used colorful language when thrown out of class. How daring! Nowadays, teachers almost need bodyguards for protection against the students and lawyers for protection against the parents.
It's as if society has lost respect for teachers and education. Maybe it's a global lack of respect for others, not just teachers. Maybe some bad teachers tarnished the image. Maybe education budgets are spent in the wrong way or regular budget cuts pass the message that education isn't important. In any case, i'm afraid for America's education, and especially education in California. I've been told that many teachers there will lose their jobs in the next month because of buget cuts, and classroom sizes will be increased.

Have you ever tried babysitting more than 15 children at a time? I have, and trust me - it's an amazing challenge. Ever try to get the attention of more than 15 teenagers in a room? Impossible. Now - instead of 15, try to put 30 children or teenagers in the same room. Scary, isn't it? Even 30 adults can easily get out of hand. The thing is - teachers don't only have to get the attention of their audience, they also have to make them memorize and learn things and children don't have the same attention spans or self-control that adults have, and they often lack drive and motivation. Most importantly - the teenager or child's future will depend on how well they have learned these lessons. Unfortunately, large numbers require a teacher to choose between 1) slowing down their lessons so that every student has a chance to follow - unfortunately not being able to cover all the required subjects 2) keeping up the rythm neccessary to cover all the required subjects - but leaving some individuals behind.
Personally, I would have needed extra attention from my teachers in 2nd and 3rd grades. Maybe they weren't good teachers, or maybe their classes were too big. I honestly don't remember. But in any case I didn't learn some of the basics that were taught in those grades and to this day, I often have to count on my fingers, can barely read clocks, and am still slow at multiplying and dividing. But give me something complicated to figure out, a calculator, and I'll find the solution.

I guess that what i'm attempting to say is this :

"Hey teachers - thanks for helping me through my early stages of life, thanks for helping me become who I am.

I support you!!!"