Madison's Teachers, "Performing Miracles, Big And Small, Each Day"

To mark National Teacher Appreciate Day, which was May 7, Madison School Superintendent Thomas Scarice and the Madison Board of Education invited Madison Education Association Co-President Mary Ellen Babik and incoming Madison Education Association Co-President Denise Earles to a Board of Education meeting on May 21.

Scarice made this statement: 

National Teacher Appreciation Week Recognition

As we come to the close of the National Teacher Appreciation Week, I’d like to share some thoughts and express my gratitude for your commitment to the profession. 

This is a profoundly complex time for our profession.  In the last ten years, we have witnessed a national education reform effort largely imposed by external forces, namely, non-educators.

With this movement, in the name of reform, we have endured accountability schemes, privatization efforts, wrongheaded “carrots and sticks” policies, and the futile pursuit of precise measurement and quantification of educator effectiveness.

The consequences, intended or not, have had a corrosive impact on the richness of curriculum and the spirit and joy of learning, leaving many of us longing for the original feelings and inspirations that drew us to the profession years ago.    I had the opportunity to spend about a half an hour with a class recently.  At the end, I asked them, in their opinion, what makes a teacher effective…what do they do, what do they say?

You would not be surprised by their answers because you “live it” every day.  “They encourage us.”  “They help us understand.”  “They are excited about teaching us.”  “They don’t give up on us.”  “They inspire us.” “They know us.” Try putting a number on those attributes.

There is no more complex profession than that of an educator.  Period.    We have a professional practice, like that of medicine, law, engineering, or any other prestigious profession.

I challenge anyone outside of our field to step in our shoes and perform at the same level without years of honing the craft.

This time of the year is particularly trying.  Beyond competing with Mother Nature’s glory on a day like today, we are faced with deadlines, looming transitions and change, and the turning of a page to a new group of students just months away.

The external forces remain upon us, and at times, we may feel like our profession is under attack.  However, we are a proud group of professionals who, even in the face of such adversity, perform miracles daily.

Your work needs something beyond appreciation.  Your work needs to be honored and revered.  From one educator to another, thank you for the tireless efforts performing miracles, big and small, each day.