Teachers,
During this nationally celebrated week of teacher appreciation, we at The Master Teacher wanted to extend a heartfelt thank-you to each and every single one of you who holds such an integral place in our society. In such a challenging profession, and in such challenging times, your continued efforts are not going unnoticed. Examination will reveal that whenever our country has faced a huge task, America has turned to the schools and all the people who work in them to get the job done.
In the last 120 years, we have had three different eras that required the country to change drastically. Schools, and the entire school team, performed magnificently in each of these eras to keep this country a world leader. Indeed, in the past 120 years, one decade after another, the entire school team served with distinction. We need to be proud of the role teachers and staff are still playing. Remembering success in the face of past challenges can serve all of us well today and tomorrow.
First was the manual labor era. In the 1800s, it took 95% of our population to feed the nation. Planting, tending, and harvesting crops were regarded as more important than schooling; as a result, a minority of children were educated. School schedules revolved around the labor needs of the family farmer. Additionally, it was assumed that anyone could teach.
Later, requirements to teach were enacted. To teach professionally, a person had to have attended school for one or two grades beyond the grade they taught. Still, manual laborers made up the bulk of workers in both rural and urban environments. The workday was 12 hours… and the work week six to seven days. Less than 5% of our population entered college. Thus, the standards and requirements in schools were not very high. “Come when you can” was more of the rule for student attendance than “come every day.”
Then came the industrial era, and everything changed. It brought a migration from the farm to the city with a need for a large workforce that could read and write as well as operate industrial machinery. As the complex needs of producing, operating, and maintaining equipment increased, so, too, did the need to have a workforce that could read and write in addition to building, running, and maintaining industrial equipment.
In response, the call to meet the needs of our country changed, and our schools were counted on to meet this need. We realized that to support a mass-production economy, we had to have a mass-consumption society. To get more kids in the classroom and have them be successful in the workforce, we implemented a system of mass education that included students from every background and social status. Our country prospered and thrived as a result.
Then came World War II. The government promised all GIs a free high-school or college education when the war was over. To facilitate their success, funding was provided to support education opportunities for them at unprecedented levels.
By the 1950s, over 50% of all eligible young people were in high school. We increased teacher certification requirements again; our teachers had to have more skills to teach their students with a wide variety and level of abilities. Both worker and management needs in business and industry as well as demands for professional skills increased—and college enrollment rose to 10% of the population.
The industrial era also brought social and labor unrest, rebellions, and demands from minorities for more rights in the 1960s. Again, the country turned to our schools to integrate, include more students, teach our minority students, and educate children with different physical and mental needs… And our schools responded. By the late 1970s, over 90% of all our children eligible to be in school were in our classrooms. Teachers took a more respected place in society. Employment as a teacher without a degree was not allowed. Requirements for continuous teacher certification included additional college study and certification periodically. Master’s degrees became common, and even more advanced degrees were not rare.
Then, the 1980s introduced the high-tech era. The computer brought the need for even greater skills and more sophistication in the workplace. Accelerating the trend of the industrial era, fewer people were needed to produce greater quantities of work. In fact, fewer people were needed to get more work done a whole lot faster and much more accurately. Again, our country turned to our schools to prepare students for a new kind of work and job. And again, as they have through history, educators did the job.
We have now moved to a skill-based society that values a high degree of technical knowledge. Most jobs are no longer in the manufacturing sector of the economy. Education now faces the challenge of meeting the needs of this latest era.
The wide range of comprehensive services schools provide to students, parents, and society now exceeds those of almost any public institution—and more seems to be expected of schools as the days pass.
Leading up to, during, and after the COVID-19 crisis, schools continue serving students in unbelievable ways. In addition to providing an educational foundation, schools bus children to campus and take them home every day. Schools feed students both breakfast and lunch on campus and even bring meals to their homes. Schools provide healthcare and counseling services, and attention is given to the social and extracurricular needs of students. Schools compensate for the mental and physical strengths, challenges, and needs of students. Schools implement services and support programs for students with special needs. Schools have had to teach students at home and at school. During the pandemic, many teachers taught their students online and then had to turn around and teach their own children at home. School has looked a little different ever since, and you are still here.
These realities should make every teacher proud. Teaching can be a thankless job, and it can seem daunting and fraught as we face an uncertain future. Teachers have done the exceptional during one of the most difficult times of our history—and will continue to do so as history continues to be written.
To you all we say thank you, thank you, thank you. Teachers have done more good for more people more consistently and more effectively than we would have thought possible just a few years ago. The tradition of superior performance continues in our schools. Bless all of you. Just take a moment to take pride and joy in what you have achieved. You are all wonderful. You are vital. You are appreciated.
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week, and thank you.
