Why I teach

Schoolteachers are suckers for kids. They can list a dozen things they hate about the teaching profession, but there is usually one thing that keeps them going: a kid.

They'll recall how they taught a struggling child to do long division or some former student returns to thank them and suddenly all the frustrations of the job — the Legislature, the pay, the dearth of school supplies, the clueless parents, the long hours, the endless paperwork — don't seem so bad anymore.

At the end of the school day, the thing that sustains most of them are the kids.

All they hope for in return is support and understanding for what they do — from parents, legislators and citizens.

How do I know this? I asked them. And this is what they said.

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Last winter I got a call at the end of school from a mother who said her son was on his way over to see me. A few minutes later Nate and his wife popped in my door. I had Nate in physics almost 10 years ago, and he was back in town and wanted to see me. He proudly handed me his thesis for his master's degree from Penn State. On the title page he had written "Thanks for your inspiration and example. I owe you much. Nathan" Later, while reading his thesis, I found this on the "Acknowledgements" page: " . . . I also wish to express my thanks to Ron Yahne for setting me on the path of discovery."" While I only understood a few pages of his thesis titled "Design and application of a fluid control and measurement system for a large thermoacoustic refrigeration device," to know that I "set him on the path of discovery" touched me deeply. — Ron Yahne, Clearfield High

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Allow me to explain. Teachers are hard up for friends and people who understand the overwhelming challenges of their jobs. They must be. They think I'm their best friend, and all I did was write one sympathetic 700-word column that made its way around the state. (It is republished on today's Page A18.) The column elicited a deluge of e-mail from teachers simply thanking me for expressing their viewpoint while also taking time to elaborate on many of their frustrations.

Which tells me they feel neglected and misunderstood.

After reading the e-mails, I gave the teachers a dose of their own medicine. I gave them homework. I asked them to tell me why they still teach, considering the increasing demands of the job. I have been bombarded with e-mails ever since.

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