I can’t count how many times I went through grade school hearing my classmates talk about how much they hate school and what they plan on doing at 3:20 p.m. It seemed that the talk of the school always centered on parties and who was in the Dean’s office, rather than what the next big project was or what teacher had a tougher quiz. To this day, I still hear many complaints from my college pals and I know at least one person who skips a class every day.

When I hear these talks, and when I see the "pained" faces, I can only think one thing: Why?

Why do the students of today’s school system hate learning? Why don’t we value our teachers more? There are third world countries where students have books from 1975 and sit in dirt mounds to learn. There are places where young people get shot for entering a school, or get shot for even leaving the house. There are countries where people spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in a lifetime for books, clothes and shoes, just to get the kind of education that will make them better for tomorrow.

And us? We are mandated by the law to go to school. If a student goes to a public school, there are programs that families can be put on to lower the price of lunch, and keep school supplies at a reasonable price. And the education itself is free!

This is a privilege. Sitting in a desk for eight hours a day, getting a warm meal once, if not twice, a day to fill our bellies. Entering the school freely to be on our way to the classroom that is about to flourish with knowledge about the future ahead, or the days that went.

I can’t say enough how much I value my education. To my teachers, thank you for going to school and wanting to better the minds of tomorrow’s future. To my lunch ladies, thank you for putting in the effort to feed hundreds of demanding kids daily. To my secretaries, thank you for learning all(most) of our names and making us feel welcomed in the office. To the nurses, thank you for dealing with achy bellies and whining kids. To the principals, thank you for learning the school and doing what is best for us. To the superintendents, thank you for having the weight of literally a thousand plus kids and not giving up when is goes crazy. To the custodians, thank you for making the school clean and pretty so we can learn with ease.

And to the United States of America, thank you for the Department of Education and the opportunity to learn every day.

God Bless.