To My Children's Teachers

To all of you who will teach my children, thank you! Thank you for choosing to step up to the plate and take on the calling of being an educator. Thank you for agreeing to help my kids experience success every chance they get. Above all else, thank you for not defining my children’s success as just grades on a report card or scores on a standardized test, but as the growth they will achieve over their time spent with you.

My daughter starts kindergarten this fall. She will be curious to learn everything you will teach her and will certainly do her best on everything asked of her. She will be looking for someone she can look up to; someone she can trust to help her overcome things she can’t yet understand. You see my daughter has a very special story. English is not her first language. In fact, the beginnings of her story are difficult to fathom. As her father, I would be grateful if you would watch the first 1:35 of the video below. It will help you to understand how her first three years of life were and why her success can’t be defined merely by a grade, standardized test, or any other standard measurement tool. It will help you understand why you, as her teacher, will forever have a special place in her heart and her life.

While my son is one year away from kindergarten, that day will be here before I would like to admit it. Like his sister, he is curious to learn everything you will teach him. He will tell you “yes ma’am” or “yes sir” and he will want to reassured that he is doing the right thing. Despite being the younger brother you will see quickly that he plays the role of the older child in many ways. He is the protector of his sister and all of the “underdogs” in life. His heart for others is mature beyond even many young adults in this world. He will look to you to figure out how he can apply what he has learned to help make the world around him a better place.

So, thank you again. Thank you for being more than just a dispenser of knowledge. Thank you for being someone who will challenge my kids to overcome obstacles and adversity. To apply what they learn from you to improve the world around them. To stand up for what is right. To make sure that their success is greater than something any standardized test or report card could ever measure. Thank you.