The Superheroes of Society

Society Superheroes

When I started fourth grade, I went to Reber Elementary in Vineland New Jersey. It was the fourth of five schools I attended from kindergarten to fifth grade. I remember the walk to school every morning. I’d meet my friend Ann Marie and walk with her to her Catholic school listening to her tales of her sisters and her friends at school; then I’d continue on to Reber where I knew no one. I remember arriving and standing in the cafeteria as they served breakfast counting the minutes until I could escape to the smaller quieter classroom. I didn’t have a single friend at Reber. I remember sitting in class and feeling like an other because I didn’t look like everyone else.  I remember our teacher Mrs. Paterno. She was kind, she had a picture of her twins on her desk, and she was the first teacher to make me feel seen, understood. Perhaps she noticed I didn’t have friends. I’m sure she recognized my propensity to daydream, and instead of reprimanding me for not paying attention she started a creativity group much like a small reading group and included me.

My few months at Reber Elementary were significant in my life because I learned three things. I learned what it felt like to be in a classroom and look different from everyone else. I learned my creativity sometimes made me see things in a unique way. And finally, I learned the importance of teachers. When Mrs. Paterno selected me for the creativity group suddenly, I liked school. I gained confidence and began seeing my love of writing stories as a special part of who I was. It was the first time I felt good at something.

Those lessons from Reber have helped me become a better teacher. Like most teachers, I understand the importance of caring for every student because it is only when students feel seen and cared for that they feel safe to learn. And when I enter a classroom, I do care for every student to the point I will lie awake at night evaluating my day wondering how to make lessons better or connect with students who seem disconnected. I try to understand who each student is, listen to them, and inspire them. It’s sometimes exhausting and overwhelming to feel responsible for thirty to two hundred students. But when even one student expresses gratitude, it’s a joy-filled reminder of the significance of the job.

I’ve been fortunate to teach, and substitute teach in many different schools over the past twelve years. In every school, I’ve met caring teachers. Beyond preparing lessons and being responsible for classroom management and success, teachers stay after school with students for tutoring, sports, and clubs, they spend their own money on supplies, they organize fundraisers, they meet with parents, they go on weekend field trips, they eat lunch with students, and in one school they play the ukelele and shout positive messages to their students as they get on the bus to go home. Teachers teach because they care about children.

Never underestimate the heart of a teacher for they give so much of themselves, lifting up others, in hopes of helping them succeed. They are the superheroes of society.