I cried every single day of first grade up until Thanksgiving break. I never wanted to leave my mom for school. I would sit in the classroom and do my work, but come lunchtime, a wave of sadness overcame me daily. I couldn't sit at the kitchen table and eat grapes and cheese squares with my favorite person in the world. I was the awkward little girl with the mullet who never talked.
Thankfully, the office secretary of my elementary school noticed me one day and invited me to sit with her during lunch. She even had the same grapes and cheese as my mother. We began to have little talks every lunch and eventually I stopped crying every day. She told that school was a fun place to be and that everyone in the building is always looking out for the students. She told me everyone cries, just not everyone shows it. She made me feel like I could do anything even though I was a homesick and petrified six-year-old.
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One of my favorite bus drivers would always say "Good morning" and "Good afternoon" to me whenever I entered and exited the bus. She also would wait for me if she saw me sprinting down the street with my Britney Spears lunchbox in tow trying to catch the bus. She would ask me why I looked sad on days that just didn't go my way and always chat with me if I was lucky enough to get the front seat of the bus. This woman didn't realize the impact she had on my life. The bus can be a terrible place, but she made it feel more comfortable, she cared about the students she was responsible for getting to and from school every day.
The custodians at my school do more than just take the garbage out and wipe tables at lunch. They say hi to the kids and come into the classrooms to read during March is Reading Month. Their office door is proudly decorated with artwork by the students. They spend countless hours after their shift is done to clean up when a student gets the flu.
The secretaries, bus drivers and custodians at my school all were a major influence in my decision to pursue teaching. Education in this country is always a debatable topic and everyone is always looking at where to make the easiest cuts. Privatizing these essential positions and people will take away from the entire school experience. Having staff that genuinely knows you and cares about you isn't worth cutting. Laying off passionate people and picking up strangers to fill in their shoes seems unjust. Money is always an issue, but by cutting these people, the schools may be cutting an essential part of the support and inspiration in the schools.
