Invest in Our Future

Have you ever been in the grocery store and seen someone "Karen" out? Have you ever known someone to struggle with certain aspects in their lives? There are a group of women and men who have taken upon themselves to help shape our countries children in such a way to make a better future. In my previous blog, I mentioned how teachers do more than just teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. Earlier last week, I found out that teachers are trained to do so much more than that. Helping to identify emotions and how to express them without flying off the handle. You know, helping to curb creating any future "Karens" of the world. Or even counseling their impressionable hearts when things are not going well at home.

Teachers wear many hats. Some are moms, dads, counselors, a listening ear, or simply someone showing grace and love to their students. I. myself, have had teachers who pushed and encouraged me out of my comfort zone. They saw things in me that I did not see in myself. As our teachers invest in us, we too, must invest in them.

Let me introduce you to two teachers that I know:

Kelsi Dye--3rd Grade Teacher in GA

What made you go into teaching?

• I actually wasn’t going to teach and I went on a 3 month internship to teach at a bilingual school in South America and one week into it I knew God was calling me to be a teacher.

Share a funny or heart-felt experience you have had during your time as a teacher.

• Wow! I’ve had so many! One of my favorites is I had a student who had gone through pretty sever trauma. One day they came up during small group time and tossed a paper ball onto my table and went back to work. I didn’t notice it until another student pointed it out. I opened it up and it said “I love you, do you know?” We had had some very hard weeks prior to this. A lot of tantrums and crying. So when this happened it literally broke me. I cried. I wrote her back and put it on her desk! She smiled from ear to ear when she read that I wrote “I love you too!”

What do you wish you knew or understood about teaching?

• One thing I wish people knew about teaching is all the work we do when no one is watching! I don’t necessarily get my summers off and I choose to work on bettering myself for my students!

Now! How can we help Kelsi? I asked her to give me her Amazon Wishlist. Have a peak! And if you see something you would like to buy, there are loads of books and fun school supplies to choose from on her list! Click here!

Hannah Allen--5th Grade Teacher in North Carolina

What made you go into teaching?

• I’ve always wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember. I had amazing teachers growing up that made a huge impact in my decision to become a teacher.

Share a funny or heart-felt experience you have had during your time as a teacher.

• I’ve had so many funny stories happen during my teaching career but the most heart-felt is being called mom by my kids. I had a student this year call me on Mother’s Day

What do you wish you knew or understood about teaching?

• Teachers don’t get summers off and teaching is not babysitting. Teachers get invested in their kids lives and our students will always be our students.

How can you help Hannah? Go some scissors or even a pack of pencils here! Remember, investing in others is an investment in our future. But more importantly, you are investing in Hannah who will invest in her students.

To Kelsi and Hannah, THANK YOU! Know you are appreciated for all you do for the future generations to come.