Another chance to say, “Thank you for your service”

“Thank you for your service, Erin,” I said recently to a young lady I know who was about to be re-deployed again soon.

But Erin isn’t in the military, as you might have surmised from my expression of gratitude for her service. No, Erin is a teacher, and her “re-deployment” would begin as soon as the new school year opened in mid-August.

I didn’t say it to her as a punchline, and I don’t write this as some cynical joke meant to diminish the thanks we should all give to our military personnel as often as we can.

But it occurs to me that far too many teachers work far too many years of their careers without hearing how much their service is appreciated by all of us — if they ever hear it at all.

Just for the record, when was the last time you thanked a teacher — any teacher — for his or her service to this nation’s well-being? And if you can’t remember the last time — or any time — why not?

Well, you might say, its apples and oranges, isn’t it? After all, our military personnel put their lives on the line to protect our freedoms. Teachers just…teach.

Except that those job descriptions don’t really tell the whole story of life in the trenches — or in the classroom.

Consider this: In the first five months of this year, up until school let out in late May, five American teachers lost their lives to military-style gunfire. They died trying to defend the students in their charge — 26 of whom also lost their lives. Every teacher and student who survived those attacks will bear psychological scars, up to and including Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

During the same period of time, as American schools suffered those 31 “combat” fatalities, American military personnel lost 13 lives in combat zones.

This is not to say that the front of a class is more prone to deadly assault than the front of a combat zone, because there are 40 times more Americans in schools than in military uniforms (50 million, versus 1.3 million). But even if school assaults could be eliminated altogether, if you think a teacher’s service is a cakewalk, then you’ve never stood in front of a roomful of children who — under the best of conditions — inhabit bodies that are a maelstrom of hormones, emotions and high drama.

And then, consider the length of a teacher’s service, compared to military service.

Military personnel may wear the uniform for anywhere between two to four years, but they typically measure their combat deployments only in terms of months. Fewer than 30 percent are listed as “combat” troops who may see potentially harrowing service, while the majority are assigned support roles like food service, transportation, mechanical, clerical, etc. And then they all enjoy a lifetime of “Thanks for your service” from the rest of us.

Meanwhile, the average teacher signs up for repeated “deployments” that may span 35 years or more, with no expectation of thanks. And it’s a good thing that they have no such expectations, because — again — when was the last time you thanked a teacher for his or her service?

Military personnel know the dangers they are signing up for when they enlist. They are trained to expect combat conditions. They are equipped with weaponry and armor to afford them a fighting chance to walk away when the smoke clears.

But teachers? They have no armory against attack, and arming teachers would only make matters worse, for obvious reasons so numerous they can’t be listed here. So, teachers, here’s your seating chart and gradebook—have a good school year. And if the deal goes down and you hear gunshots echoing down the hallway? Well, try turning off the lights and locking the door. Tell all those terrified, weeping children in your charge to stop sobbing so loud. That should help.

So… is it really so far out of line to say “Thanks” to a teacher, just as you would (and should) to a military service member?

Because even if the only thing that teachers did was teach, don’t we all still owe teachers a debt of gratitude for their service?

Erin, for example, teaches young children grades one through six, and she goes out of her way to see to it that their education stays on track before they move on to the next level. When they get lazy and don’t do their work on time, or if they goof off and aren’t working to their full potential, she makes them eat their lunch sitting next to her. Her contract doesn’t require her to sacrifice her peaceful lunch break for the sake of a lesson. She does it because it works.

One young man came back to visit her years later when he was in high school, and he said, “You know, I really hated you back then when you were my teacher. But thanks to you, I learned a lot of good habits that have kept me on track.”

That young man thanked Erin for her service.

Have you?

Even if Erin wasn’t your teacher — or your child’s teacher — and she did nothing for you personally, don’t you owe her a tip of the hat for keeping one more aimless clown off of America’s streets, and on track toward a meaningful, productive life?

You probably tipped your hat to a service member on Memorial Day last May, and you’ll do it again in November on Veteran’s Day. I surely did, and I surely will again.

Meanwhile, America’s teachers like Erin will return to their classrooms day after day, keeping our nation’s children on the path toward a better life for themselves, teaching them to be better citizens to help build a better America.

And they will do it, day after day, without ever hearing from us how much we appreciate them for their service.

Unless…

Author, musician and storyteller TR Kerth is a retired teacher who has lived in Sun City Huntley since 2003. Contact him at trkerth@yahoo.com. Can’t wait for your next visit to Planet Kerth? Then get TR’s book, “Revenge of the Sardines,” available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other online book distributors.

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