Story originally printed in the La Crosse Tribune or online at www.lacrossetribune.com
Published - Saturday, September 06, 2008
Curt Trnka: You should thank a teacher today
Once September throws a 55-degree day at us, we can be fairly certain of two things: School has started, and it’s way too early to be this cold.
As parents, students and teachers fall back into the routine of school days, I figure now is as good a time as any to point out just how important teachers are to our youth.
I was a horrible student. True story. I was rude, disruptive and often uncaring. Subjects other than art and P.E. really weren’t too high on my list of things to care about. Oddly enough, I was at my worst in any and all English classes.
But now I’m years removed from school, a cog in the work force — and boy, am I sorry for the way I acted.
Not everyone can write a column about how they never thanked their teachers enough. So I’m writing this on behalf of a lot of naughty, troublesome students who might have similar stories.
Kindergarten teachers: Thank you for your patience in teaching us how to spell our names. Not only do you have to learn names like Przytarski and Trnka, but you have to teach little kids how to spell them.
First-grade teachers: Thank you for making a whole day of school feel like an adventure. We never realize it at the time, but we make a tough crowd to teach, considering our attention spans are based on Pokeman and Power Rangers.
Second-grade teachers: Who knew spelling tests would be such a huge help down the road? Oh, you did. Thank you.
Third-grade teachers: Somehow, you knew we’d need to know how to write. Didn’t seem all that important at the time, but thank you for knowing better.
Fourth-grade teachers: Thank you. State capitals AND U.S. history? And honestly, we probably should go over those again, just for practice ...
Fifth-grade teachers: Sure, we wanted that extra recess, but making us earn it with a pop quiz was pure genius. Thank you. It’s almost like you knew someday Jeff Foxworthy would be asking us just how smart we were.
Sixth-grade teachers: We were just figuring out the opposite sex was attractive, but you managed to keep our heads filled with math, reading and science. How you did that without mind control is just amazing. Thanks.
To all teachers dealing with teenagers: As new teens, we students thought we knew it all. Thanks for actually knowing it all and being willing to share.
To the parents: Thank your child’s teachers now, because your kid probably doesn’t know just how much they appreciate what teachers do for them.
Looking to thank a teacher? Don’t know how? Write a quick letter to the editor. Teachers read. They’ll see it.
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