Our View: In Praise Of Educators

For people who live and work on the Cape, there’s a kind of circadian rhythm, an annual rising and falling of our energies, our patience — and our bank balances — linked to the annual ebb and flow of visitors to our shores. And while Labor Day doesn’t mark the kind of emptying-out-of-Main-streets that some of us remember from years past, it still marks a transition, a chime in our internal clocks.

 But it sounds different for some of us. For teachers and other school faculty and staff, high season is just beginning. Educators on Cape Cod undergo a rapid seasonal change, returning to the classrooms from summer break or just as likely from a summer job scooping ice cream or teaching summer camp. And so, Labor Day is an opportunity to reflect on what teachers mean to us.

 Perhaps it’s been a few decades since you visited a public school. Some things haven’t changed: the artwork on the hallway walls, the identifiable smell of school lunches, the morning announcements on the PA system. But lots of other things are different, including the demands we put on our educators.

 We’re no longer just tasking our schools with making sure graduates can recite historical dates, compose a well-written sentence and figure out the quadratic equation. Today’s educators are expected to ensure kids gain life skills in addition to vocational or academic credentials. They’re charged with keeping kids physically safe in our schools. They have a larger-than-ever role in helping youngsters face social and family challenges, from problems at home to social media bullying. They’re actively helping young people facing mental health problems. And when it comes to administering discipline, they’ve now got to do so in creative ways designed to ensure that all kids — even unruly ones — still have the opportunity to learn. They’re doing all of these things while pushing students to achieve ever-higher curriculum goals.

 Teachers are also doing all of this at a time when our federal government is not prioritizing resources for traditional public school systems. There are federal budget cuts, an effort to shrink or even eliminate the Department of Education, and cuts that threaten programs for students from low-income families, those with disabilities or those who are learning English. Thankfully, our state government still prioritizes education, but it feels the loss of federal funds. When choosing our elected officials and voting our town budgets, we need to keep education on the front burner.

 Educating the next generation of citizens is now, and has always been, our best hope for reversing the social and political shortcomings of our society.

 So, as the Cape settles into its post-Labor Day rhythm, watch out for school buses and kids on the roadside, and remember to thank a teacher.