Teachers make a difference despite challenges | Prescott

By Cindy Prescott
For the Kent Reporter

I have had the good fortune to talk to quite a few teachers in the Kent School District this last month. I’ve been visiting buildings and talking about issues that concern educators in their professional lives.

You may not be surprised to hear that we are concerned about class size, building meetings that take up student contact time, support for children who are struggling, enough time in the school day to really address the needs of all their students, and worries about the number of tests students need to take.

And you would probably not be surprised to hear that teachers, although concerned, want to continue to make a difference in the lives of their students.

While walking the halls of buildings in our district, I saw wonderful student writing, analysis of text, amazing math contests, and great art in support of this learning. I saw rooms full of books, charts and inspirational sayings.

Each carefully crafted assignment is evidence of the intentional planning that goes on behind the scenes. The teachers I was visiting were still in their rooms after class, or working early before class started to prepare materials and instruction that help students make sense of what they read and learn.

From personal experience I can tell you there are days that pass like a whirlwind; school pictures, copier breakdown – just the worst thing that can happen – or fire drills.

And then there are days when your heart is fed because of what happens within the four walls of your classroom; the proverbial light bulb going off, fourth-graders saying they like fractions and amazing written responses that prove students are thinking deeply. There are conversations about how fiction imitates real life, real life application of mathematics, and the sudden understanding of how history repeats itself.

There are so many, many other ways educators impact students; support staff that provide counseling, speech therapy, physical therapy, individualized instruction. There are concerts that move us, plays that cause us to laugh or cry, beautiful artwork, and athletic events that teach the importance of team effort and sportsmanship.

In short, teachers form relationships with students that help them learn, that provide more than just the ABCs of the subject matter. Teachers care and kids respond.

It’s true there are concerns in the education community that are real and need attention. But the important thought I have taken away from these meetings is how important teachers are in our society and the very real pride I have in being a member of their ranks.

Cindy Prescott is a fourth-grade teacher at Crestwood Elementary School and vice president of the Kent Education Association. A Kent resident for 20 years, she has been teaching in the Kent School District for 15 years. Her four children have attended Kent schools.