To the editor:

Every year as another school year begins, I think about the teachers in our midst and the ever-increasing challenges they face.

As they welcome 30 youngsters to their classroom, they are dealing with different environments, medications, social skills and readiness. Many of their students have three or four different parents, some are homeless, some have not had breakfast, some are embarrassed about their clothes, some don’t have pencils, tablets or backpacks. Some are able to read “War and Peace.” Some don’t know what a Crayon is.

These teachers are “in the work zone” all day, every day — no breaks, no time to go downtown for lunch, no one to help them deal with a tough student, all while increasingly hearing the media report on how poorly our public schools are doing.

At the same time that ICE agents are being offered a $40,000 signing bonus with a salary of $100,000, teachers are getting half of that while at the same time quietly finding a way to give shoes to a needy student.

One of the earliest strengths of our country was strong public education. The only way that can continue to be true is if we have dedicated, empathetic and skilled teachers. The teaching profession today is a real challenge, If you know a teacher, send them a note or give them a call to tell them how much you admire what they do to help us maintain the democracy that we all cherish. It will make their day a bit brighter and their resolve a bit stronger.

John Tacha,

Lawrence