Teachers should be the highest-paid workers in the country (in any country) but they’re not. They make a decent salary, but it’s just usually enough to get by and if they’re the only household income, they still struggle. Yet, teachers are not only educators, but they spend more time with our kids than we do, at least during the week. And for many parents, the teacher is the one raising their child. That’s unfortunate and a harsh thing to say, but it’s true. I know so many teachers and every single one of them has to frequently spend money out of their own pockets to pay for the supplies they need in their classrooms. They’re just not going to let a child do without. Who can sit by and watch that happen? Teachers are the best.
Kyle is a third-grade teacher at a low-income school in Colorado. One day, she asked her students what they wished she knew about them. She had them submit their answers anonymously on little slips of paper and later shared them on her Twitter account.
Now, a wave of teachers are posting their students’ responses on Twitter with the hashtag #iwishmyteacherknew . Many of these are heartbreaking.
A big thank you to Kyle and the other teachers of Twitter for sending in their students’ responses. To see more, check out the link at the bottom of the article.
1. “I wish my teacher knew sometimes my reading log is not signed because my mom is not around a lot.”
2. “I want my teacher to know it feels like the class picks on me. I hate that.”
3. “I wish my teacher knew how much I miss my dad because he got deported to Mexico when I was 3 years old and I haven’t seen him in 6 years.”
4. “I wish my teacher knew I don’t have friends to play with me.”
5. “I wish my teacher knew I don’t have pencils at home to do my homework.”
6. “I wish my teacher knew my parents.”
7. “I wish my teacher knew she gives too much extra homework with Math!!!”
8. “I wish Mrs. King knew that I worry because my mom is getting sick a lot and I was in the hospital last night.”
9. “I wish my teacher knew that even though sometimes I do not get good grades that I try. Also that I get stressed but when I come to your class I feel better.”
Good job, Kyle!