I have the honour to be working for the next couple of days with a variety of people that are connected with education but not “educators” with the Peel District School Board. This would include, but not me limited to, secretaries, finance department, IT staff, facilities, communications departments, and so many other people that do things to help create the best opportunities for our students.
Talking with them, I remember thinking about my school janitor from when I was a kid named Mr. Rohrke. He was someone who not only kept the school clean, but was someone we loved talking to and connecting with every day as kids. He was one of those people that made your day better. He could have easily ignored us and did his “job”, and there were probably many days he had to stay later because we could talk his ear off, but he always loved talking with us. His job was to make the school a great place to be and he did not that by only keeping the school clean, but also by taking the time to make us always feel welcomed. If anything, I am glad that he made that time and from people I know that are involved in education, the kids, no matter their position, are part of the reason that they show up everyday.
So when we talk about all of the great things that are happening in schools, let’s just remember that there are so many people behind the scenes that never seem to get the credit they deserve to help us create the best conditions to serve our kids. I know that I have been guilty about complaining about the WiFi not working but also on the other hand, not thanking the same people I have complained to when it works. I need to get better at that.
With schools changing so much and it happening at an extremely rapid pace, let’s just remember the value of everyone else that are NOT educators that we so often tend to forget. The more they know they are a valued part of our team, the better we will all be for kids.
