This morning, I bumped into my daughter’s second grade teacher.

Even though, in the past 20 years, Hope has had hundreds of classes and even earned a graduate degree from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, she still maintains Mrs. Patrice is her all-time favorite teacher.

I found myself reminiscing over the experiences our family had with this very special teacher.

Mrs. Patrice believed every child was gifted and important. She welcomed each student for the individual gifts they brought to their classroom family. (Yes, she considered her classroom of students to be a ‘family’ and she was the matriarch.) She had the insight to look beyond the exterior of a child, deep into their spirit, and had the ability to pull the very best out of them.

I volunteered in her classroom at least one day a week and personally observed Mrs. Patrice in her expertise. Every child knew by the atmosphere in the classroom that they were valued.

There was no greater value given to the A+ student or the mayor’s child over any other child. When a student struggled academically, she had special games for them to ‘practice’ their skill at a cozy nook with me or another volunteer. The child who could not sit still would often be danced with around the room until he came to his original seat. This student would be given certain tricks to use when sitting was needed, such as a stress ball, a quiet rubber band counter or a bouncy ball to sit on as he worked.

Mrs. Patrice was not a pushover for students or parents. She was honest and firm when she needed to be. She set clear expectations and, while taking special needs into consideration, she was fair in her evaluations of performance. What I most appreciated in Mrs. Patrice was her ability and seemingly constant effort to speak life into the students’ lives. She praised them, not out of flattery, but out of deep belief in the strengths she saw in them.

It’s tempting to look at the child with stylish clothes or from a family who has status in the community and be excited about what your experiences with that child might bring.

How thrilling it is for every teacher to find the gifted student who barely needs instruction to learn to read, work fractions or write a persuasive paragraph.

But consider the child who might come to school wearing the wounds and struggles of his family into the room. Or what about the child who is misbehaving because he cannot make sense of the letters on a page, or because sitting still for more than 60 seconds feels like being tortured?

We often forget the value of a teacher such as Mrs. Patrice.

Sometimes it appears teachers are the least appreciated of society’s servants. And yet they yield great power in the formation of a child’s attitude toward learning.

So much happens in a six-hour day over a nine-month period to influence a child’s perception of themselves and of their community.

It truly matters who wears the honorable title of “teacher.” I’m not just speaking about academics. Teachers set the atmosphere of the day to day focus of life. They model how to accept failure and success. They show us how to value and respect people from different backgrounds than us. They demonstrate how to think critically and problem solve beyond the math class.

Teaching is an extremely difficult and exhausting profession.  A teacher is always on stage and any slip up can be fodder for criticism. It is easy for teachers to burn out, and the lack of appreciation or respect from students and from their parents can suck the life right out of even the most enthusiastic teachers.

This time of year, teachers get very tired. They look forward to Christmas break and snow days more than any student.

Teachers have the power to instruct and model extremely important character traits such as kindness, compassion and generosity. Teachers are often our first examples of how to mediate between differing goals and perspectives. They can teach us how to resolve conflicts in positive ways while still respecting the individual with an opposite point of view. Our view of society at large begins in the classroom and it is the teacher who has the power to shape that view.

This holiday season, be grateful for the gift a good teacher brings into your family and into our communities. Resolve to support your child’s teacher with positive affirmations and speak life into her by the way your respect them in your home.

I know there are many Mr./Mrs. Patrices out there. Let them know how important they are in your life.

Nora Swango Stanger, a Lawrence County native and Appalachian outreach coordinator for Sinclair Community College, can be reached at norastanger@gmail.com.