OUR VIEW: Teachers are among region’s true heroes

Every student, male or female alike, can remember those good ol’ days where we put on our fanciest clothing and hopped aboard the big, yellow bus to head to the first day of school.

That day is coming soon for Lafourche and Terrebonne Parish youngsters who are enjoying their final days of summer freedoms before giving way to the life of homework, studying and all else that comes with academia.

With school back in session, so much emphasis is put on the children in attendance – the pupils who are training their young minds to learn all of the vital information necessary to enjoy productive adult lives in the future.

But today, we’d like to shift the discussion a little bit and focus on the lesser known, unsung heroes that make the entire operation move forward without a hitch: the teachers.

Just think about this for a minute. Without teachers, where would we be as a society?

How would we learn to read, write, function with peers, obey orders and all of the other basic fundamental social and academic principles that we take for granted in life?

They are instructors, babysitters, caregivers, and a third parent to any child at a time when he/she are in most dire need of parenting, counseling and guidance.

They are patient, kind, gentle and unbiased – the best favor no child over another and are fair to all within the walls of the classroom.

But more importantly than all, they are woefully underpaid for their impact to the world and completely unappreciated for the things that they do.

So instead of talking about Common Core, budget cuts or any other negative topics around the field, why don’t we instead talk about the teachers – the men and women who make it all tick?

They are a species that one might label as having a bit of an endangered existence these days because of the challenges in today’s modern educational system. But even with those obstacles, we still have hundreds upon hundreds of men and women in our parishes who take the time to share their knowledge with our children in the classroom and academic setting.

And though they may not have the high-priced salaries of a doctor, lawyer or company CEO, without their willingness to guide our youth, that doctor, lawyer or CEO would not exist.

The Common Core talk will dominate the headlines now and into the future – a hotbed topic that will linger on into the future.

But for one day at least, let’s thank the teachers for what they do, for without them, the world couldn’t possibly be the same.