On Saturday afternoon, I went to a matinee of the Broadway show “Godspell” with family. It is a very engaging show with a wonderful young cast. I enjoyed their boundless energy. Most of them seemed to be just a few years out of high school or college, and so very talented and attractive. If any of you are in New York City this summer, go to the TKTS booth in Times Square and buy a ticket. Every seat in the house is a good one. Corbin Bleu, the star of the show, by the way, is a graduate of the Los Angeles County High School of the Arts.
At the beginning of the second act, one of the young actors sat down at the piano on stage and began playing a medley of tunes from well-known shows. He paused, and he said he was very excited because his high school Spanish teacher was in the audience. Then he said, this next song is for all the teachers in the audience. The audience applauded vigorously, everyone applauding for teachers, not just his teachers, but for their teachers too. I was very moved. I hear so much hostility to teachers on the blogs and in letters to the editor, that it is easy to forget that the overwhelming majority of Americans love their teachers. At the drop of a hat, they will name them and thank them and tell you what each of them did that changed their life.
Ten years away from school, no one will remember who was superintendent or state commissioner of education or Secretary of Education. But they remember their teachers.
Diane
Diane Ravitch's blog 
So nice to know teachers are loved for their hard work and devotion. I’m now teaching as a private piano teacher but my public school teaching days are near and dear to my heart.
Yes indeed, I remember my teachers. My first was Mrs. Arrie Guess who taught me to read- setting on her lap when I was four years old. My sister, Betty, went to school and I cried all day to go with her, so Mrs. Arrie said send her when my mother went to school in desperation seeking advise for my standing in the yard crying all day. My poor mother was at loss to know what to do with a four year old who stood in the yard and cried all day; Mrs. Arrie Guess had the solution. She said, I think she may be too young for school and learning to read, but send her anyway. That was truly community education and shows what a great part teachers played in the family when they asked for advise. The teachers never came into the home, nor did they invade the privacy of the home, but they were there to help. All Americans knew this and most still do.
Well, to make a long story short, I learned to read when I was four years old, but not all children are ready to learn at that age, especially boy, but they catch up with us gals. Boys. develop shower than girls for some unknown reason, if you can believe the research. But, not all boys! That is the fallacy in research.
I also remember every teacher I had from 1st grade through graduate school. I had, in most cases, outstanding, dedicated teachers. Sure, I had a few who were questionable, but I have had bad doctors, bad attorneys, bad neighbors, bad whatever, but do we deny them “due process”? No! Due process is a constitutional right! Never forget that.
Part of living is taking the good with the bad! We learn to adjust if we are balanced mentally and emotionally. Teachers who are fired because of this restructuring “hoax” should collectively or individually seek legal reprisal in our court system. I think that still exists listed under the Constiution. This is about all I can advise at this point, find a good Constitutinal lawyer and get his/her advise. Now back to good teachers:
Many thanks to my outstanding History teachers. First I remember Mr. Horner who made History come alive. He told wonderful stories tied to history that kept us awake and kept us interested.
It is hard for teachers to compete with the fast moving media today, but the human touch is always more important than technology to children. Good teachers reach out and touch the lives of our children forever; we never forget.
Teachers care! Otherwise they wouldn’t devote their lives to the profession. Why does the media try to say otherwise? Makes no sense to me. I enjoy your blog, thank you.
I can’t tell you how grateful I am that my teachers were always around,even after I left school. As a child whose father had died of cancer when I was young, my family, my teachers, and the school had helped me understand that I still belonged to a community. They were there for me. They were not going elsewhere. They were, some still are, there. It wasn’t just a 2-5 year teacher who knew this was not a career and then left , it was my community. I am not sure people understand that belongingness need that connects you to your community and the people you know are rooting for you. It is powerful. That is what life is about. You want to do well for yourself and for the others that came before you and that invested in you. LIFE! Try measuring that!