Salad Bowl

This is really about a salad bowl, and here it is. It's not very large, just about the right size for two to four salad eaters.
This was given to me as a present from a graduating class of my students, and we have used it almost every day. It has the old and used patina of many wonderful oils and dressings. You can see the burned on names of these students around the rim. Each day when I bring in the salad greens to fill it I think of those wonderful kids who had been a part of my life for a number of years. I do know about some of these young people as they have wended their way to adulthood. Others faithfully connect. But I think of all of them and remember the good times had in the classroom and beyond.
And this is what it is to be a teacher- to love and care for generations of young people. And this is what I find so lacking in the schools I see now. Being a teacher doesn't mean that you must receive such a gift as this salad bowl that has decorated my life forever. It means that as a teacher you must have the energy and leadership and creativity to inspire kids who remember your message: Be Your Best! When your students do this, this is your salad bowl!
We are in a period when society doesn't respect teachers; government slowly and inexorably removes them from the rewards they should have as people who do the very hard work every single day with our children who are the future. For the teachers who are having a difficult time, we do not care enough to seriously mentor them. We just talk about ending teacher tenure. There are ways to tease out the teachers who are unable to perform.
This is a hard time in our country. We need to pare back expenditures. But I do think that it is a big mistake to reduce educational expenditures. We need to salute and empower our teachers, support them, pay them well and raise them to a new status.
There is no work as hard and rewarding as being a good teacher.