If You Can Read This . . .

Thank a teacher. Remember those bumper stickers?

But, speaking as a teacher myself, (who taught hundreds of children to read), I feel qualified enough to say that I would mark this statement as incorrect. I would cross out “teacher” with my red pen and write “veteran” in its place.

This is exactly what I taught my students each Veteran’s Day: That our schools depend on stable communities in order to operate. And it is our military that makes this possible. We are not a war torn country with interrupted education being a casualty of the chaos. This is because we have men and women who willingly leave their homes to bravely serve and protect us on foreign lands and seas. They keep the chaos far and away. Therefore, our schools can function and our teachers can get on with the job of teaching. So if you can read, it’s because the military did its job: providing you and your teacher with a secure place to proceed with your education in safety.

This Veteran’s Day I am so grateful for our armed forces. I’m a few days late here, but, thank you to all who serve and have served. Active duty members number less than 1 per cent of our population, and all veterans around 6 percent. The rest of us owe you so much.

My previous post included some photos I snapped at the quilt show. I’m going to add another quilt here from that show.

This quilt displays the names and stories of men and women from our own county who gave the ultimate sacrifice.

Too too many names. It’s overwhelming. I snapped just one quilt square to focus on.

This one hit very close to home. This young man aspired to be a teacher. He interned at the same school as many of my friends, including my husband.

How very very sad that he was not able to achieve his goal, his aspiration: to be a teacher. To teach children to read. I was teaching on the day he was born, and on the last day of his life. I got to enjoy a fulfilling vocation of exploring, learning, and laughing with children. He never got the chance. How can I thank him?