Tim Wright: The giving spirit of educators

Published 2:00 pm Tuesday, December 17, 2024

I’m going to miss Janice Suits. Ms. Suits was one of my teaching partners early in my career, and she was a good mentor and friend. She recently passed away, but she left a wonderful legacy.

I learned a lot from Ms. Suits, but what I saw her do behind the scenes taught me more than anything she did in her classroom. Ms. Suits was a giver. She never hesitated to pay for student field trips, grab someone a jacket in the winter or purchase shoes when she saw holes beginning to appear. She formed great relationships with parents, and she was there for them if needs arose. She was a great example of how teachers do far more than teach ABCs and 123s.

As we move through this Christmas season, it has filled my heart to think about the wonderful teachers we have in our buildings who give of themselves each day. We have many teachers in our system who go above and beyond to make things happen for their students. It’s needed now, maybe more than it ever has been.

I can see examples of this giving spirit all around our system. We have several schools that now house food pantries that hand out full boxes of groceries to families each week. Most schools have Saturday Sacks programs that partner with churches to help meet food needs for students and their siblings over the weekend. Each month, our system partners with the Chattanooga Area Food Bank to host food drops for anyone in the community who can come to participate. Many schools have clothes closets that supply extra clothes when students may have needs, and local churches have worked to help keep students stocked with school supplies when needed.

For larger needs, our system’s Wellness Department and our social workers work with resources all over our local communities to support families who may be struggling with mental or physical health needs. They work with students and families who may be experiencing homelessness to help the students stay in their home school where they can maintain some sense of normalcy during a season of struggle for their families.

Teachers see student needs and meet them daily, without any hesitation or care for recognition. Our cafeteria workers, custodians and bus drivers are often on the front lines of noticing when students may have needs that someone else may not have yet noticed and work to help meet these needs themselves or by helping bring these needs to light. Even our students practice the spirit of giving by creating fundraisers, hosting toy drives and volunteering all around our community, including in many of the initiatives mentioned above. I’m so proud of the givers we have in our system.

I share these stories not to seek applause for the individuals involved — though they are certainly deserving — but to highlight how deeply educators care for their students and their families, and that care leads them into action, even when it may not be noticed by others around them. In contrast to the negative stories we frequently encounter in the news or on social media, these acts of kindness and dedication represent the true spirit of our schools. Yes, challenges exist — schools are staffed by people, and people are fallible — but the negative stories are exceptions, not the norm.

The norms are teachers like Janice Suits. They work in every school building, and they greet your children with smiles each day. They pray for your children. They listen to them. They see them where they are and love them.

The best teachers understand that it’s a special calling to do what we do, and they take it seriously. They know that teaching reading, writing, math, science, social studies, fine arts and career education are the main tasks each day, but they know it’s hard to do those things well if children have other issues going on in their lives. The best teachers work to get to know their students and their families so they can know the best way to reach each student in their rooms.

We have so many wonderful educators in our system, in our classrooms, on our buses, in our hallways, our cafeterias, on our sports fields, etc. They care about your kids and want the best for them. They’re givers like Ms. Suits. As we celebrate the Christmas season and the spirit that goes with it, let us all work to be givers. As Anne Frank once said, “No one has ever become poor by giving.”

Tim Wright is superintendent of Murray County Schools.