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Oct. 25, 2004 Dear Teresa Heinz Kerry, I read your quote concerning Laura Bush and her “job or lack thereof” with interest and surprise. I am a former teacher. Let me state here that your remark in no way influences my or my husband’s vote in the upcoming presidential election. We judge our candidates on their merits and their fitness for the highest office in the land and not on what their spouse says to a group of reporters. Your faux pas has no impact on whether Alan and I vote, or do not vote, for John. But really Teresa, (may I call you Teresa?), you did put your foot in your mouth when you made that statement saying that you didn’t know “if Laura Bush had ever had a real job.” I know that you upset many people with that remark, especially mothers who feel that you insulted them personally by not taking into account the fact that Mrs. Bush had a full-time job when she was staying home to raise the twins. Having had twins myself, let me say that it definitely is a full-time job! But I am not here to join the outraged moms. I am here to ask you, quite frankly, exactly what you think teaching is, some sort of “non-job?” Have you ever been a teacher? Teaching is one of the noblest professions in the history of humanity and yet, there are those who somehow view it as not really working! What do you think teachers do all day long? We teach! Were your children born knowing how to read? Were you? All of us at some point in our lives have had teachers of one kind or another. Some of the greatest people who lived on this earth bore the title of Teacher including, religious beliefs notwithstanding, a certain carpenter from Nazareth. Teachers educate and enlighten. We can bring knowledge to students that will help change their lives for the better. Teaching is no walk in the park, believe me. When I tell you that teaching, while being rewarding, is an exhausting, draining job, please understand that I have been there and know of what I speak. Yet we do it because we have a love for learning and want to pass it on to our students. Long hours of planning, implementing those plans, presenting new ideas, grabbing and keeping the attention of 30 or more kids, and grading all of their work, are all part of the “non-job” of teaching. But perhaps it is best said by the written word. (And please remember, it was a teacher, or a parent acting as a teacher, who first taught all of us to read). It was a saying on a tee-shirt that perfectly defined the profession of teaching. It read: “Teaching makes all other professions possible.” Think about it Teresa. Laura Bush did have a real job. She was, at one time, a member of the noblest profession in the world. She was a teacher, and that Teresa, IS a real job. ------------ About the author: Besides being a featured columnist for the wonderful Useless-Knowledge.com magazine, Kristen Houghton is the School Reform editor and writer for BellaOnline.com magazine. She is a writer and journalist whose work has appeared in Questing Magazine and Images. Her book of short stories is being readied for publication in the very near future. Email: Krisnalan@aol.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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