Have you ever given thought to the value of our teachers? The old adage of “those who can’t do, teach” is the most absurd comment I have ever heard. Until a person has actually served as a teacher, it is truly hard to understand the complexities of the profession. The teaching profession is more than a profession; it is a passion and a way of life. Teachers don’t teach from 7:30 am to 4:00 pm, they teach 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. When taking on the role of a teacher the individual is taking on a life-style. Teachers don’t put their careers behind them when they go home each day and pick it up the next morning. Teaching takes planning and planning goes on after the school hours and after the daily lessons occurs. Why am I on this rant about teachers? We should honor our teachers all year long, but one week a year is set aside to pay special attention to them and that week is coming up on May 7 through May 11. Please take the time to thank a teacher who has made a difference in your life or in the life of your children. With all of the technology present in the world today, there is a movement to use fewer and fewer face-to-face teachers to provide instruction. Although using technology to provide instruction is convenient and cost effective, it is not the best means to provide a quality education and it can not be the only way we provide our instruction. Teachers are masters of the technology that they employ daily to keep instruction interesting, pertinent and challenging. When I think about the tools and qualities that it takes to be a teacher on a daily basis these roles and characteristic come to mind: parent, disciplinarian, counselor, technology expert, mathematician, interpreter, public speaker, scientist, life coach, historian, bus driver, English specialist, artist, motivator, coach, banker, nurse, protector, data analyzer, and assessment master to name just a few. In one school day, a teacher can deal with each of these roles while interacting with students and perform these tasks seamlessly and effectively. Teaching is not for the weak at heart! Teaching takes every bit of strength a person has to deal with some of the emotional traumas that students go through. Students rely on teachers and sometimes teachers are partners in some of the most life changing events our students’ experience. Teaching is a mental and physical endurance race and the teachers of SSISD complete the race as winners each and every day, 187 days a school year. Some folks criticize the teaching profession for only working 187 days out of the year, but the days of long summer vacations left us many years ago. Summer vacations are spent retooling and regrouping and preparing for the next school year. I am so very proud of the San Saba ISD teachers who will attend conferences and a multitude of training through out the summer to hone their craft and become even more polished in their fields. Please take the time to honor our teachers in these last weeks of school. San Saba ISD is blessed to have a staff full of people who care for all children in our school system. Thank you teachers for your dedication to SSISD and to the students of this community. We value you and the job that you do!Parents, let us know how we can help you the first day of school all the way until the last day of school!! School is coming to a close quickly. Please check the website at www.san-saba.net for school information and follow us on facebook, too! If you have any question about this article or any other question about school happenings please contact me at 325/372-3771 or email me at lglaze@san-saba.net.