Editorial: Proof again that teachers are more than just instructors
As we regularly celebrate students who excel in academics, athletics and volunteerism, so must we celebrate the teachers who help shape them into great kids.
That commitment to education - a hallmark of this newspaper since its humble beginnings more than a century ago - is borne out in our front page celebration this week of two Golden Apple Award winners.
But it's not the only way in which we honor teachers. Every month we pick an outstanding teacher and feature that person on the front page of news and the entire front of our Neighbor section.
Strong schools and the teachers who work in them are among the top reasons people move to the suburbs.
Not to understate the value of parenting, but teachers help complete the circle of rearing children. Ask the truly successful teachers: It's as much about listening to kids and advocating for them as it is injecting knowledge into their brains.
The Golden Apple Awards are the Academy Awards of the teaching profession. Being nominated for one is truly an honor. Winning one, though, requires qualities that are hard to define.
Sara Blair Winter-Rosenberg, a teacher in Mundelein High School's Heritage Spanish program, is a true advocate for her students, Principal Anthony Kroll said.
Stacey Gorman, the district's director of curriculum and instruction, was one of the administrators interviewed by the Golden Apple selection committee.
"I call Blair an equity warrior," she said. "She advocates for our Latino students. She gives them a voice and that came through in her interview."
Judy Tyler, an AP biology and gifted program teacher at Maine East High School in Park Ridge, was this year's other suburban winner.
She's taught at the school for 31 years.
Maine East junior Angela Righi celebrated with her. "She's just incredibly supportive and makes us all feel like human beings - like we're equal to her," Angela said.
Superintendent Ken Wallace noted that Tyler takes a group of students each summer to the site of a disaster or a place in need of aid to illustrate how one's service can have a profound effect on others.
Great teachers don't merely lecture. They impart knowledge, develop critical thinking skills, counsel, push, listen and encourage. They develop empathy, resolve conflicts, draw kids out, instill patience, build confidence, celebrate successes, evaluate failures. Great teachers inspire. And these two inspire us.
Not every teacher can win a Golden Apple, but that doesn't mean they're not worthy of our appreciation.
Thank a teacher today.