We all know how hard teachers work. There is never really a question of that. They have their own lives and consistently take their work home with them day in and day out. Late nights are filled with lesson plans, grading and who knows what else to make sure they are doing the most they can to help their students learn and grow.

It's common to have teachers that double as coaches for various school sports and act as advisers for school clubs and functions. They often go above and beyond the credit they deserve. And the subject of teacher salary has been worn out and harped on enough to know that they don't really make enough for the amount of work they really do. But as much as academic teachers do, it seems as though fine arts teachers do much more than they are given credit for.

Teachers in the fine arts are typically so much more involved in their students lives than other teachers. More often than not, these teachers will have the same students for three to four years rather than just a single year. They get a chance to see the students grow more than any other teacher. And not just physically grow up, but grow as people, musicians or artists. They tend to have more influence on students than they are ever given the proper amount of credit for.

Fine arts teachers not only teach, but they also run programs like art club, show choir, drama club, marching band, jazz band, indoor drum line, winter guard, school plays and musicals. They take students to programs like all- state chorus, band, sight reading chorus and many others. They devote weekends to rehearsals and shows, even some weekday mornings are spent working with students for any number of things. They devote most of the year to their students without ever thinking twice about it.

I know most of this just from seeing the amount of time and energy my high school band and chorus directors put into their programs and their students. They are some of the most giving people that I have met, they would do anything to ensure that their students succeed as long as the students showed them that they were going to give 100 percent in return. While it wasn't always clear that they were on our side or doing giving us their all, they were. It's easier to see that looking back.

In the times that it seemed like they were against us because they were mad and yelling at us, it was only because they knew that we could do better and be better. They wanted us to be the very best we could be. They didn't demand a perfect run though every time or a perfect show. Because they knew that if it was perfect, there would be nothing left to learn. They simply wanted us to put in as much effort as we possibly could. They wanted us to show them that we wanted to be there and that we weren't wasting their time, or our own time. It isn't too much to ask, though sometimes it seems like it is.

They gave us their all, and continue to give it to their current students. They became a major part of our high school careers. Their advice and lessons have stuck with us, or at least it has with me. So this is for all the band directors, chorus, art and drama teachers -- thank you.