Teachers are our lifeblood in a way.
They help transport us from the classroom to the next level, supplying us with knowledge and confidence to do whatever we choose on our career paths.
What once may have been a crazy idea soon turned into a brilliant one with a teacher’s nod of approval and plenty of diligence on both student and instructor’s behalf. Next thing you know, you’re making steps toward your goal — and while there will be copious challenges along the way, you’ll hopefully one day be riding high on a successful journey as a biologist, engineer, architect or even a journalist.
On Wednesday, Lake Washington School District teachers picketed around town during a one-day Lake Washington Education Association (LWEA) walkout. They participated in a statewide action against the Legislature to protest the lack of state education funding for smaller K-12 class sizes and cost-of-living increases and benefits for educators.
While students had the day off, they were missing out on important lessons that will help shape their future, but teachers stood up for themselves. They will return to their classrooms and surely add that life lesson to their repertoire when students ask what they were doing away from school on Wednesday.
“Every teacher here wants to make an impact. Every teacher has a passion for their subject, has a caring attitude towards the students, and you won’t find a teacher that doesn’t show up early and stay late,” said Diana Sparks, an art teacher at Evergreen Middle School and LWEA union representative, while standing at the corner of Avondale Road Northeast and Northeast 116th Street on Wednesday morning.
Sparks proudly showed off her sign that read, “Support education. Our children are our future.”
We learn crucial things every day, in every job we tackle or experience we encounter. Teachers are making their mark in the classroom or standing at an intersection waving a sign that tells people that things need to change. In everything we do each day, we want to be a part of a transformation that pushes us forward to new horizons.
Teachers care about their students and want them to succeed in the present and in the future.
Both my parents were teachers and they shaped me into who I am — a hard-working person who challenges himself to make the most of each day, whether it’s at work or at home, wherever I may roam. It’s necessary to live that way so we can pat ourselves on the back at the end of the day and know that we tried our best and hopefully influenced and inspired some people along the way.
