In this guest post, teacher Diane Clerke shares a moving poem about the one constant force in children’s lives: their teachers.
People come and go.
Principals come and go.
Who’s still here?
I am.
School Boards come and go.
Who’s still here?
I am.
Parents come and go
in and out these children’s lives.
Who’s still here, everyday?
I am.
Congressman come and go
Policies come and go
Programs change at the snap of your fingers.
Who’s still here?
I am.
Testing
Formats
Rankings
All change.
But I am still here.
I am the one
who makes all the difference for my students.
I am the one
standing there, holding a child when he cries
because a dog died that morning.
Or Mom has breast cancer.
I’m the one who’s here.
I am the one
who believes in each and every child
I am the one
who says, “Yes you can”
And they believe, and they do.
#TeachingIs me.
Diane Clerke is a 39-year veteran of the profession. She is an eighth-grade English language arts teacher at Highland Junior High, in Gilbert, Arizona.
