During teacher appreciation week, don't forget the real heros!

 

As a first-year teacher, I learned the most important relationship a young girl can have isn’t with the mentor teacher next door the one with 35 years of teaching experience and a roll of duct tape for the kid with ADHD. It isn’t being besties with the principal who asked more questions about your bartending experience than your student teaching or with the PE teacher who wants to see you play volleyball in the gym after the kids leave. 

        The most important relationship is with the janitor. The janitor will unlock your door when you forget your keys and walk you to the car if you stay too late in the school on the wrong side of town. The janitor will thank you for caring for the neighborhood kids and help you understand their home life by pointing out the tarpaper shack when you want to make a home visit to Juan’s house and you can’t find the house numbers. 

        The janitor has worked on the campus longer than any teacher and may have even attended the elementary school they clean. They will catch the bat in your room and tell the kids they set it free and when the chairs aren’t stacked on a Friday, they will still sweep your floors. The janitor is the man or woman who will save you from throwing up right beside the vomit on the floor of the second grader who played kickball in the summer heat after eating  too many cookies on a dare at lunch.
 

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