Letter: Without being asked, or paid, teachers came out for ‘their kids’

Politically speaking, to be a teacher in Wisconsin the past two years has not been a highly regarded position.

Led by Gov. Walker, teachers have been denigrated and singled out to blame for much of what is wrong in our state. Politics are one thing — real life is quite another.

When the unimaginable happened in River Falls and three children lost their lives, it was the teachers at Greenwood Elementary School who stepped up to take care of their kids and their families.

No one had to ask them, no one had to pay them. Led by their principal, the teachers just showed up at school to help the community find a way to move through the loss of three of their own.

The staff at Greenwood put together stations for the kids to make cards and banners. They had snacks.

The teachers took steps to take care of providing an opportunity for students to take action, to occupy their minds with something constructive to do and to nourish their bodies.

Having provided for mind and body, they moved to the tougher task of making sense of a reality that was too overwhelming to understand.

They hunkered down to counsel and comfort students and parents alike to begin to find a way to heal the soul. School was a safe place to meet and hold each other tight.

No teacher was ever trained to deal with such an unthinkable tragedy, but that didn’t stop the teachers of River Falls.

The teachers at Greenwood just did what teachers do, they took care of their kids.

When teachers use the term “their kids,” they may be referring to the children who live under their roof.

They may, however, just as easily be speaking of the children they tend at school.

Tags: opinion, letters, k12