preschool teacher

Being a teacher is not an easy job, especially in this day and age when so many parents expect them to do their job for them in every way.  Meeting and working with a lot of teachers this year it is interesting to me how you can see if they really enjoy their job or are just surviving it.  Most teachers I came across so far have been really great and wonderful teachers who truly care about every child in their class.  But this week I came across a woman who I think should get a reward for being extraordinary in her job. 

I knew this lady a little bit because she is one of the assistants in preschool and all of our kids had her in their class.  She is in her 50s or so, always has a smile on her face and a loving tone even when she's disciplining a child.  This week I got to work with her in the classroom where I subbed and she was such a great help in everything.  What really impressed me about her though was how she talked about a little girl during our lunch break.  This girl came there to preschool a few years back and now she's in 4th or 5th grade.  She comes from a poor family and a very rough environment where she's not taken care of properly, is very dirty with greasy hair.  Now, this girl is getting a bit older and she comes to school feeling embarrassed about her appearance so this sweet preschool teacher has her come to her office almost every day before the school starts and she washes her hair, dries it and styles it nicely for this girl.  It almost made me cry when she was describing this little girl because you could really tell how much this teacher cared.  I have no idea what is the line to cross for the social services to do something and maybe they tried with no results.  I just feel that teachers like her are the real teachers.  It is not in her job description, very far from it yet she talks about it with such joy.  She truly enjoys taking care of kids and she is so happy that this girl lets her do it for her and just seeing how proud she is of her appearance afterward is a reward to her.   Teaching is so much more than having kids learn new facts or excel in reading, it is about making a real difference in that little girl's life who will grow up and remember the kind teachers that really cared for and loved her.  And it is a great feeling to see so many teachers in our schools being that way.