LABOR OF LOVE

"Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country." dol.gov

Since June 1894 Labor Day has been a legal holiday thanks to Congressional Legislation. The day is typically observed by parades, picnics, and rest from the very labor of which is being celebrated.

Martin Luther King once said, "If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, go out and sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures. Sweep streets like Handel and Beethoven composed music. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.”

We probably all know the saying, "Do what you love. Love what you do." 

I am blessed to work in a profession where the rewards of the labor are far greater than imaginable. They are not monetary. They are personal. The physical, emotional, and mental toll the job requires are vast but worth it. It is a twelve month, seven day a week labor of love. It has to be. 

Yes, there are perks. The business is closed on federal holidays. There is ample time off for winter, spring, and summer vacations. Inside the buildings there is always a good amount of playing, laughter, and singing. There is also always things to be learned. Every moment of every day people are learning. 

My business is education. My building is a school. The people I work with are teachers. Our Labor is done with great love.

" Rita Pierson, a teacher for 40 years, once heard a colleague say, "They don't pay me to like the kids." Her response: "Kids don't learn from people they don’t like.’” A rousing call to educators to believe in their students and actually connect with them on a real, human, personal level." Ted.com

And I bet that today, Labor Day, the people that I work with will be working, planning, and preparing for another day, another week, another moment where their labor can be felt by the people they work for, the people for which they care. For it is with the love and care of what you do that one can really make a difference. 

Happy Labor Day,

Magda

A truly inspirational TED talk by Rita Pierson

Protection

If you look at my Profile you will find out that I am a teacher.

Being a teacher my heart is broken.
Being a teacher I can only imagine what the teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary School felt when their students, who they were hired to protect, were under attack.
Being a teacher means that for the time you are at school you protect the lives of everyone in your classroom - in your school. It's a community within a community within a community.

You may not always get along with your child's teacher.
You may not always get along with the teacher across the hall from you or in the other building.
You may not always see the face of God in the children who are in your classroom or the adults down the hall - but it's there.

If you look at my profile you will find out that I am a parent.

Being a parent my heart is broken.
Being a parent I can only imagine what the parents in Newtown Connecticut felt when they heard the news that their children's school was under attack.
Being a parent means for the time your children are at school you hope they are being educated and protected by people who dedicate their lives to your children.

As a parent and a teacher I am in awe of the brave acts performed by the teachers and administrators at Sandy Hook Elementary School, as well as how brave the children must have been.

If you are a parent or a teacher next time you sit across from one another start your conversations knowing that you both have the best interest of the child in your heart and that if ever under attack both of you would do anything to offer them protection.

Magda