Frank Thoms, Teacher in the Rye

I see politics, angry parents, and unruly students hamstringing teachers. State and local governments siphon tax funds for public schools to fund charter and religious schools. Only the more fortunate can take advantage of the movement to divert money from public schools leaving the poor farther behind.

I write because I believe in public school teachers. Education that invites learning, questioning, thinking is priceless. Even learning without these elements is important. In a classroom, children learn how to be together, to be in community, to understand that together they are better, their life is better.

The classroom is more important than ever. Social media separates, only enabling on-screen connections if you can call them that. They are especially susceptible among pre-teens and teens, a time when being together is important. Schools that ban phones recognize the essential role for the teacher and students to be together, to learn together, to be in community. A phone in hand removes a person from the presence of others.

Many teachers are leaving the profession. Each one who quits means one less teacher for children. If every teacher leaves (unlikely hopefully) it would mean schools would close. Choosing to be a teacher commits one to a mission. Some times I think I’d like to be back in the classroom, but I had my turn.

Those of you who stay are there for the children. Your task is to build a better future, to make your classroom a sanctuary, educating children to become the best they can be. My task is to bring knowledge from my past to support you to create a better future.

So in response to our troubling times, my ‘thread in the fabric’ at this time in my life and living in Mexico, is to address education in the US, particularly to teachers. I offer what I can to support and encourage them including ideas and methods to enhance their teaching. As a reporter wrote that he saw me as “a teacher in the rye, saving civilization from going over the cliff.” Perhaps not, but I am trying.