For most students, it is hard to imagine a world without teachers. Many people believe that teachers are should be thanked for everything the human race has today because they taught the individuals who innovated these items and concepts, and there even is a nationally recognized week honoring his profession. In the 2017-2018 school year, Rochester High School celebrated this week with a teacher luncheon and created ways for students to show gratitude towards their teachers.

Many teachers have known what they wanted to do their entire lives, and these men and women have even planned out their classes and futures based on that.

“I’ve always wanted to go into teaching. I’ve always liked school, and I was always good at helping other kids out,” history teacher Mrs. Sarah Thomas said. “I was chosen to do peer mentoring when I was in middle and high school, so that all had an impact on me.”

Additionally, being in a classroom setting for almost 20 years had an influence on some current teachers. They may have looked up to their former teachers and wanted to be just like them, which is why they went into teaching.

“As long as I can remember, I wanted to be a teacher,” English teacher Ms. Jennifer Schrems said. “When I was in school, I was to have many influential teachers who motivated me to be my best. Not only did they help me grow academically, they helped me grow as a person. I wanted to be this person for other people.”

While the majority of teachers will agree what he or she does is far from easy, there are many perks to the influential career.

“The kids are my favorite part of the day. [I love] actually being with the kids and actually teaching,” Mrs. Thomas said. “It’s a lot of the other stuff that’s very busy and hectic and stressful, but I love getting up and actually teaching.”

According to Mrs. Thomas, being a teacher is much different than a lot of jobs out there. It is a mixture of multiple disciplines rolled into one. Instead of sitting at a desk all day everyday, teaches can move around and talk to people. On the flip side, there is additional work that comes with the job.

“[Teaching] is different every single day. It is never the same, like my days are different every single day,” Mrs. Thomas said. “I like the fact that don’t have to sit in a cubicle and work all day. I get to get up, I get to move, I get to interact… The most difficult part of teaching is everything else you have to do besides actually teaching. There’s just so much more you have to do than just physically teach.”

Although teachers like  Mrs. Thomas love their professions and believe it is extremely fulfilling, they also believe that teaching is more work that it seems.

“[Teaching is] a lot more than you think it’s gonna be, but at the end it’s really really rewarding to do the job the you do and to get to be able to see all those kids and have an impact on the kids,” Mrs. Thomas said. “Especially after they graduate and then come back, you get to see them and they’re excited to see you.”

According to Mrs. Thomas, another struggle for teachers is when to put their work life on the side.

“I think the toughest thing is probably time management- when do you put work away?- because a teacher’s job is never ever done,” she said. “I think that’s one of the toughest things- you always have stuff to do, so you have to  manage your time and say enough is enough.”

Like most others, teachers could not have gotten to where they are now without the support and care from their former teachers. Some educators can recall past memories of how they have been influenced by their previous teachers.

“Mrs. Gotko [an RHS math teacher who retired at the end of the 2017-2018 school year] in particular was a positive influence to me in high school,” Ms. Schrems said. “I struggled in math and she was very patient with me. She wanted me to succeed.”

Not only do teachers try to teach their students the class material, but they also get involved in their students extracurricular activities outside the classroom.

“I love the kids. Their energy, humor, kindness and intelligence,” Ms. Schrems said. “I also love watching them outside of the classroom whether it’s a basketball game, the school play, cheer competition, etc.”

While some argue that society would be absolutely nowhere without teachers, there are also individuals who do not see the importance of teaching and who do not respect the career.

“This profession is not respected as much as it should be, but without our profession, no other professions would be possible,” Mrs. Thomas said. “All the professions in the world, they all start with a school and they all start with kids being taught something, so where would all those kids learn without teachers?”

Another misconception about this career is that when someone becomes a teacher, he or she stops learning. Mrs. Thomas believes this is far from true.

“Even in my professional career, I want to see other teachers teach,” Mrs. Thomas said. “I want to see what they do well and what I can bring into my classroom to do the best things I can.”

Many students all around the world will agree that teachers touch their students on a deeper level daily and that they change their lives forever. One of these students is sophomore, Kanika Mohan.

“I remember my first semester of freshman year I felt like my language arts teacher was the only one who believed I could do a lot better than what I usually do,” Mohan said. “He went out of his way to encourage me and led me to be what I am now.”

Similarly, teachers do not only teach their students the required curriculum. They teach them general life skills that they will use for their entire lives.

“He just didn’t teach me language arts. He taught me how to speak up in front of everyone,” Mohan said. “Now, because of him, I stand up confidently, and I trust myself and what I say. Without any doubt, I can say he’s the best teacher and motivation I’ve ever had.”

Teachers educate the world’s future- the children- on a daily basis. These kids are going to grow up and be the ones who we can attribute medical and technological advances to, as well as any other achievements in society.

“No one ever thinks about the world without teachers and about how it would be total chaos,” Mohan said. “That is why I think teachers need to be appreciated so much more than they currently are. Teachers are the people who are making the world great because they are the ones who will help the next generation grow up and have great ideas.”

As Mohan portrayed, it is hard to think about a world without teachers. She agrees that educators do so much for their students, and, along with thousands upon thousands of more students, she believes that teachers deserve our utmost respect and gratitude.

“My teachers have always have been there for me whenever I needed them,” Mohan said. “They have taken out a lot of time for me which they didn’t need to do, but they still did because they are great and amazing teachers who I would never be able to describe in words.”