We have the job of moving America’s youth forward while inculcating values and providing a civilizing force for a society. And yet education is used as the scapegoat for a myriad of problems and is the first place politicians look to cut budgets. A summer seldom passes when we are not told how lucky we are not to have to work, and bite our tongue so we don’t respond that we are off because we aren’t being paid.

On occasion we face parents who can’t face their children, and we are accused of all manner of obstructions to their child’s progress. And we go home, cross off another day from the school calendar, and spend another sleepless night wondering if we chose the right profession.

No doubt touching the future requires a your-reach-should-exceed-one’s-grasp mentality, and perhaps some of it is our fault. For as teachers, our greatest failing may well be the fact that we don’t share our successes with the general public. But the reality is that even though education is the queen of the sciences, it doesn’t seem to appeal to those seeking the limelight.

Ours is a profession of care givers, doers and lifelong learners who treasure letters from past students and spend countless hours shopping for things for the classroom, knowing full well they are not going to be repaid.

It is a profession for those who put others first, and would wish for nothing more than to have every student be successful.

For example, school promotions are designed to honor the students and parent while publically acknowledging the passing of a rite of passage. In reality it is a silent salute to all those teachers who have taught the diploma recipients until this goal was reached. Such great accomplishments for the educator should come with a great reward. The problem is that no one has really defined what reward. It certainly is not monetary and, sadly, in many communities it isn’t even status. For a teacher, rewards are more intrinsic: the joy of listening to an entire class burst out laughing at a joke or the small smile from a youngster when told, “good job." Teachers don’t put a price on that, but as the commercial says, these rewards are priceless.

So with the winter doldrums nearly behind us and the deadline for income tax filing weeks away, what better time is there to share some great stories about teachers that gently remind all of us why we made the sacrifices to become educators? And there are cartoon links, too.

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