Tribute to Teachers. This year’s event this afternoon gathered some 6,500 teachers in SMX Convention Center and I was given the privilege to speak to them. Working together with the mime ministry of Christ Commission Fellowship, all of us felt so privileged given the opportunity to inspire the overworked, underpaid, under appreciated educators from all over the country sponsored by Diwa Publishing.
Do you know why teachers grow old prematurely?
Consider this. These are reported to be actual test answers from various schools in the Huntsville, Alabama metropolitan area:
Q: Name the four seasons. A: Salt, pepper, mustard and vinegar.
Next Q: How is dew formed? A: The sun shines down on the leaves and makes them perspire.
Next Q: What is a planet? A: A body of earth surrounded by sky.
Next Q: Name a major disease associated with cigarettes. A: Premature death.
Next Q: How can you delay milk turning sour? A: Keep it in the cow.
Next Q: How are the main parts of the body categorized? A: The body is consisted into three parts – the brainium, the borax and the abdominal cavity. The brainium contains the brain, the borax contains the heart and lungs and the abdominal cavity contains the five bowels, A, E, I, O, and U.
Next Q: What is the fibula? A: A small lie.
Q: What does “varicose” mean? A: Nearby. Probably meant: “Very close.”
Next Q: Give the meaning of the term “Caesarean Section.” A: The caesarean section is a district in Rome.
Next Q: What is a seizure? A: A Roman emperor.
Next Q: What is a terminal illness? A: When you are sick at the airport. There seems to be a semblance of truth in this answer.
Next, I guess this one is my favorite. Q: What does the word “benign” mean? A: Benign is what you will be after you be eight.
Teachers are the most powerful people in the world because who else can tell two hundred other people exactly when they can go to the toilet? A schoolteacher was given a ticket for driving through a red light. When she appeared in traffic court, she asked the judge for immediate attention to her case as she was due to be back in class. The judge looked at her sternly and said: “So you’re a schoolteacher. I am about to realize a lifelong ambition. You sit down at that table over there and write ‘I went through a stop sign.’ FIVE HUNDRED TIMES!”
It is not easy to be a teacher. They grow prematurely old especially when they have students like me. Support them and encourage them. Do not let them burn out. So how would you know if they are?
Here is: THE TOP 6 SIGNS YOUR CHILD’S TEACHER IS EXPERIENCING BURNOUT 1. Look at her spelling test words: “Go,” “Home,” “Already.” 2. She spends an inordinate amount of every parent-teacher conference extolling the virtues of home-schooling. 3. Lately, all the math homework has involved calculating how long it will take Teacher A on Flight 201 out of Boston to reach Maui. 4. “Because the scalpel method is much too slow, we’re going to speed up the frog dissection with this blender.” 5. You hear your kindergartener singing, “A-B-C-D, E-whatever, whatever…” 6. Your son comes home with a report card comment that reads, “Johnny is a snot-nosed brat, just like the other 23 losers in his class!”
Teaching is noble and it is a calling from God and they simply respond to it. If you happen to know someone who is a teacher, extend your gratitude and encourage them. You know why? Because they deserve it.