I am very grateful to the WSJ for printing my Letter to the Editor but they "kinda" mangled it. I have been asked to show the original and here it is:
We all became educators because we couldn’t help it. It was in our blood. There was nothing else we wanted to do with our lives. We unquestioningly assumed the responsibility of educating future generations of our community.
Our children have the best that education can offer right in front of them everyday. You love what you do and you will continue to do that in spite of the storms raging around you. All you have ever wanted were the funds and respect you deserve.
Thanks to our Governor the funds are not to be, but I can assure you that you have more respect than ever from the decent, humane people in our city. You must believe in the essential value of your work. You must cling tenaciously to what you know is right.
You don’t necessarily need a mantra to work in other jobs, but you do in education. You need to hold onto something beyond the daily teaching experience - something you can connect with when life is difficult and overwhelming. So, please believe that what you are doing is the single most important job there is. You are fundamental to the central core of a sane world. Of course, teachers and staff have little time for such self-reflection because you are too busy just getting through the infinitely frenzied world you live in.
Let me end by asking you who you think can return our state and country to its historical commitment to democratic principles. Who can assume the obligation and duty to do this? The answer, simply put is – YOU, THE WONDERFUL TEACHERS AND STAFF OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS!
Marjorie Passman
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