by Grace Lintner, Guest Contributor

I recently heard that teachers are being demonized, and I was shocked. Really? I remember years ago, lawyers were considered the lowest of the low. At another point in time, Congresspeople were highly unpopular. In the last couple of years, it has been some police officers who have been vilified. But teachers? C’mon, hating teachers is absurd.

          I know some have criticized our teachers as indoctrinating children using Critical Race Theory here in Prince William County. In reality, Critical Race Theory is a college level theory and is not taught in county schools, but tell that to the parents from near and far who attend our school board meetings and they will holler that we are scarring their angels by teaching them that white Americans held slaves in captivity a long time ago. I am a product of PWC public schools, and this did not scar me. I never hated myself for the sins of my forefathers. I do think today’s Americans owe it to people of color to destroy today’s systemic racism.

          Back to our subject, teachers; they are making our young ones wear masks in schools? If I am correct, our school board sets the mask policy which gives parents a voice. Parents have a voice? Why yes, Virginia—your voice is through your school board representative! 

         Teachers had it easy last school year during the COVID crisis because they taught from home in their stretchy pants? I don’t blame them for wanting to be comfortable. I think looking at a screen all day while keeping track of 22 plus children daily would cause eye and brain fatigue. I know I have been annoyed by attending Zoom meetings once or twice a week for a couple of hours. I can’t imagine what these teachers went through. It’s not lazy to not to be in a hurry to return to in-school teaching when there is a deadly pandemic going on. 

         I admit I have been away from the parent-teacher scene for a while; my children are in their twenties. I no longer have to stay up countless hours helping them with their homework, filling out forms, packing lunches, attending parent-teacher conferences, driving them to the library to find that book for their report, going to the reading night celebration or whatever their elementary school called it, purchasing cute backpacks and going to Staples to buy everything and more on their school supply lists.

         I did all I could to support my daughters’ teachers because, besides caring for my children, they imparted knowledge to them. They taught them about complicated simple machines and simple and complicated math. Teachers taught them proper grammar and proper manners through their example. My daughters were treated with respect. The care my daughters were shown helped them both achieve their high school diplomas and complete bachelor’s programs at their university; today they are gainfully employed.

          I remember years ago, on the last day of school, there were always parents who would let their children skip that day so the family could get a head start on a trip somewhere, probably a sunny beach or Disney World. I always thought this was disrespectful to the teachers and sent the wrong signal to the child. My daughters attended the last day up to the last minute. Their parents always appreciated teachers and will never join the crowd that vilifies them. 

 If you’d like to write me your thoughts about teachers from the standpoint of a parent or a teacher, you can write to me at glintner2@gmail.com

 (Grace Lintner lives in Manassas, Virginia with her husband, two daughters, a rabbit and a cat. She has lived in Prince William County for over 55 years.)