Salute to the Educational Legion of Masters: This includes you... you're all Masters

(No Copyright Infringement Intended for Image of the Dalai Lama)

Every spring, right around the time the standardized testing window opens for most schools and districts, I make time in each of my graduate classes of resident and pre-service teachers to deliver a sincere and validating address.

It kind of boils down to this:

Forget the statistics.

Yes, I just said that.

Forget what administrators espouse about how every student is expected to be academically "proficient" or higher by the end of the year.

Forget the numbers, the data, and the op-eds that you read in the news that talk about which students are destined to be successful, and which are not.

And don't listen to the people who have been out of the trenches for so long that they don't have a sound grip on what is happening in education with students, teachers and expectations.

Right around this time, stress and panic often abound.

Teachers fear that they haven't done well enough with instruction. They fear they'll have let their students down, and that their jobs may even become in jeopardy, based on arbitrary assessments.

They feel like they're "not quite good enough."

But the fact is this: Teachers teach from the heart.

As we know so well, teaching is a noble profession, and it's not one that anybody's going to get rich from. I mean, if you know something I don't, please let me know how you worked that out, cuz I haven't learned that lesson yet.

Nonetheless, teaching is an incredibly hard job. Ask anyone who has tried it, let alone made a career out of it.

Further, it's multi-layered.

An effective, caring teacher has to teach the entire child, not just basic content and curriculum.

My message to them is simply that everything they do as teachers positively impacts all of their students, even if it doesn't seem that way in the moment. As teachers and human beings, we help students learn about life, and grow as human beings and caring people as well as becoming scholars. The impact we have on students is truly immeasurable. Everything we do helps them in their life's journey, whether we know it in the moment or not.

Right about the time I was set to disseminate my annual inspirational message, shift happened.

Schools closed their doors because of COVID-19, and as families had remote learning thrust upon them, the magnitude of responsibility, the work level shouldered by teachers, the degree of dedication and patience required, all became glaringly evident.

In this moment, ready or not, formalized or not, everybody became a teacher, academically anyway.

So this is for you.

To all parents and other adults who invest in, bear responsibility for, and care about children and their education; to siblings, peer mentors, and others who have pitched in to help with remote and home-based education; you too are teachers.

Here's the thing though:

You always have been.

You also teach from the heart, and you do it every single day, whether you know it or not.

Everything you do and say with your children, from simple acts of encouragement and motivation, to homework help and life lessons, all matters. It always has.

It's not always easy, and it's not always ideal.

My husband and I wondered more than once over the years, if we had taught our sons adequately in terms of academics, critical thinking skills, life skills, and compassion, while still allowing them the freedom to seek their own knowledge and lifelong learning. Our hope was always that they would become strong adults capable of making sound decisions and influencing others to do the same with confidence and independence.

We wondered, more than once, if all of our efforts and work were "good enough."

Despite our concerns, they have all become lifelong learners and successful adults. (If you would like to read their stories, you can read them on the Testimonials page of this website.)

Here's the bottom line:

Everybody is a master.

Everybody, knowingly or unknowingly, teaches their children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, siblings and so on with everything they do.

It all makes a difference. Despite our fears and uncertainties, as teachers and parents, our children will grow into productive, successful, competent adults.

Your hearts and efforts are in the right place. Our students and our children will succeed.

You picked up the additional instructional mantle when it was unexpected. Has it been perfect? There's really no way.

But it is more than "good enough."

As we all do our best to navigate this unprecedented fall semester, the amount of uncertainty seems overwhelming for parents, teachers, administrators, and professors alike. What's important to remember is that no matter how we will be teaching our kids, our kids will all learn and grow. We will remain in this fight together, and we here at Brevik Homeroom are here to help!

So take a minute, thank a teacher, and then pat yourself on the back for all of the wonderful work you have done, continue to do, and will do in the future as educators and parents along the way.