And Just Like That,

It’s That Tine Again

Pools and margarita season will arrive for every teacher in the great state of Texas next week. More importantly for every teacher, a much needed rest. So this month, a nod to the most hardworking folks I know — educators.

I have long since had a love affair with teachers. I was one for 32 years. These are the unsung heroes for so many kids. They are not just lesson plans and red ink. They are shoulders to lean on, eyes that notice, hearts that stay after the bell.They teach more than math or metaphors. For all the teachers who grade papers after bedtime stories, who show up tired but still show up — Thank you.

Great teachers change lives, shape futures, and remind us all of the power of human connection. It’s one profession that some may think is “easy,” what with two months off in the summer and all…

For great teachers, education is not just a profession — it’s a calling. They enter the classroom with more than lesson plans and grade books. They bring empathy, patience, resilience, and heart. They stay late grading papers, wake up early to prepare creative lessons, and spend their own money to buy supplies so their students don’t go without. It’s just what they do.

And still, many will say they’re “just doing their job.” But what they’re really doing is building futures, one student at a time. 

I started teaching as a mere child of 22, barely older than the seniors I taught back in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and ninety. Pant suits with big shoulder pads and big hair were all the rage.

Robin Williams in The Dead Poets Society had just come out, and I was set on being him. Education for me was a passion, and I loved every single minute working with teens. It was fun, and those kids taught me so much about life. What is really sobering is those “kids” in my first year teaching are now 53 years old.

One of the most extraordinary qualities of great teachers is their ability to see students — truly see them. Not just the loudest ones or the top performers, but the quiet ones, the struggling ones, the ones who don’t yet believe in themselves. A great teacher sees potential where others see problems. They find ways to reach students who have been written off. They give second chances — and third, and fourth, and 408s — because they understand that learning isn’t linear, and every child deserves to be believed in.

In a world that moves quickly, where data and scores often drive decisions, great teachers slow down long enough to notice what really matters — whether a child feels safe, valued, and capable.

Most of us can point to at least one teacher who made a profound impact on our lives. Maybe it was the third-grade teacher who helped conquer a fear of reading aloud, or the high school coach who pushed a student to work harder and dream bigger. Great teachers plant seeds we may not see sprout for years, but they grow, often into careers, passions, and life-changing choices.

What’s remarkable is that these teachers rarely realize how far their influence stretches. A kind word, an encouraging comment on a paper, a belief in someone’s potential — it echoes for decades in the hearts and minds of students.

I also had the advantage of being the travel coordinator in two different schools, so I organized international trips to Europe for many years — taking upward 50 kids with me. Mackenzie was just 9 when we ventured with 53 students to France and Italy. Life changing. For students and me. I got to see kids out of the classroom and they, me. It was such fun.

Funnily enough, I still get the odd email from Canadian students I taught in years gone by. At the end of each year, the last assignment for my grade 12 students was to write me a letter. And I wrote one back and put my email at the end.

In 2006, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and low and behold the nurse who took care of me while I was in the hospital post-surgery was a student I had taught English years before. She didn’t fill my IV bag with poison, and we had some great chats while I lay there in my pain free state, so I feel that was a testament to the relationship I had with students.

Last year when I did a trip home in February, I met up with a student who was just starting his student teaching in English, no less — the pride I felt that day is something that is hard to describe.

The past few years have underscored just how essential — and how adaptable — teachers are. From navigating virtual classrooms to managing emotional well-being during global uncertainty, teachers have been front-line leaders in keeping learning alive. They’ve become tech experts, mental health supporters, and cheerleaders all at once.

And through it all, great teachers continued to show up. Whether through a screen or behind a mask, they kept inspiring, kept encouraging, kept believing.

I had the pleasure of teaching at Boswell in 2022 for one year and met an incredible cast of educators.

The English department there is bar none a group of exceptional individuals who I still call friends today. They seemed to put up with my Canadianisms just fine. I ran into a Boswell student at Sammy’s pub a few months back who gave me a big hug and introduced me to his girlfriend, who said, “Oh, you were his English teacher!”

At its core, teaching is an act of hope. Every day, teachers walk into classrooms and hope that their lessons land, that their students grow, that their care makes a difference. They invest in futures they may never fully see. And they do it anyway.

Great teachers know that they may not be able to fix every problem, but they can be a steady presence in a young person’s life. They can offer structure when the world feels chaotic. They can model kindness, resilience, and curiosity. They can spark a love for learning that lasts a lifetime.

So how do we honor these everyday heroes?

We listen to them. We support them with resources, respect, and trust. We elevate their voices in educational decisions and policy. We advocate for their well-being as fiercely as they advocate for their students.

And maybe, most importantly, we say thank you. I think this happens a little less in high school, but it’s still necessary.

Thank you to the teachers who stay after class to help a student understand.

Thank you to the ones who buy snacks for hungry kids and notebooks for those who forgot theirs.

Thank you to the teachers who make learning fun, who treat their students with dignity, and who never give up on those who need a little more love.

Long after the classroom is packed up and the textbooks are closed, the legacy of a great teacher lives on.In the scientist who remembers their first chemistry experiment. The engineer who builds his first bridge long after graduation. In the author who once struggled with grammar. The second language student who rocks any state multiple choice exam. In the doctor, the artist, the parent, the dreamer who was once just a kid in the back of the room, trying to figure things out.

Behind every success story, there’s a teacher who made a difference.

Let’s never forget that.

Well done, teachers. Well done.

Colleen McCullough 

Owner of The Virginia May Bed and 

Breakfast at Eagle Mountain Lake