Sep 6, 2020 3 min read

Sure, they have summers off.

I’d be hard-pressed, however, to name many professionals who have it much harder than educators.

Especially during the coronavirus pandemic.

There are certainly more dangerous professions, although the threat of gun violence in our nation’s schools is ever-present.

And there are more intellectually rigorous career paths, but try teaching a full courseload day in and day out and make an argument that teachers’ brains aren’t sufficiently challenged each time they step in front of a room full of often disengaged children and teens.

Maybe I’m biased. My wife, Jill, is a reading specialist at Bower Hill Elementary School in Peters Township. She has also taught at St. Elizabeth of Hungary Elementary School in Pleasant Hills, Allegheny Intermediate Unit 3 and Bushwick Ascend Charter School in Brooklyn, N.Y.

For those who have had Mrs. Santa, or who have had the privilege of having their children taught by her, no explanation is necessary as to the utter brilliance of educators.

But, for those who haven’t, take it from me; the dedication teachers across every discipline exhibit each day is astounding.

From the amount of time and energy they spend continuing their education to being underpaid for complicated work to having to deal with children and parents who don’t appreciate what they go through, teachers are deserving of much more respect and appreciation than they ever receive.

Some teachers at Bethel Park High School may be surprised to be reading this column. Count me as one of those spoiled brats who gave plenty of teachers a hard time.

I’m sorry. It took me falling in love with one of your rank and file to begin to see the error in my teenage ways.

Then came 2020.

Many parents across the world got a tiny taste of what teaching is when they were forced to assist in their child’s education during the pandemic. Now, many of those same adults across the region are voicing frustration because their school districts are going to hybrid or entirely virtual instruction this fall.

My son is just about to turn two. I can’t fathom how difficult it was to handle helping to teach a child while working full-time last spring.

Take those frustrations and multiply them by 20 to 30 children, however, and that’s what teachers deal with every day.

No plan exists that will perfectly navigate us through the COVID-19 pandemic in any capacity, and that is undoubtedly true of education.

As teachers selflessly put their own health and the well-being of their families on the line this fall, please take a moment to consider the immense sacrifice they are making to educate the children in their communities.

Don’t be as unappreciative as I was at Bethel Park High School.

Enjoy this edition of South Hills Living.