President's Viewpoint
A Letter to Zoe

My first grandchild, Zoe Simone Kilgore, was born March 18, 2002.

My dearest Zoe,

Growing up you're going to get a lot of advice. And some of it will be worth taking--stuff like: it's very hard to hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk, you should always wear sunblock while at the beach, and the Boston Red Sox will break your heart.

These are known as the eternal verities.

But what I would like to do is try to tell you about the things adults usually don't talk about.

Within each person is a place where we are always alone with ourselves. It's like a secret garden, and in it we keep the treasures we hold closest to our heart.

I love you and I don't care who knows it or how mushy it sounds. But you should know that many people don't like revealing what's in their secret garden for fear that other people will make fun of them. But don't let that fool you--everyone has a secret garden.

Now, Zoe, you will be heading off to school in a blink of a grandfather's eye, so let me share a secret about the teachers you will have. They won't mind my telling.

Teachers keep in their secret garden the memory of a very special teacher that they had when they were kids in school. This teacher made a big difference in their lives. Your grandpa had such a teacher. His name is Alan Carlsen, and he helped me understand that I was worth something, that I had the potential to be more than I could imagine. A teacher has this gift. A teacher teaches you to fear less and hope more, whine less and work more, talk less and say more.

Thanks to Mr. Carlsen and the other teachers I had in school, I became a teacher myself, and served for six years as president of the National Education Association, working with the good and giving people in our public schools.

It has been my great honor. The skill, care, and tender aspirations of public school employees never cease to inspire me. They are my heroes. I have seen them--as you will soon--staying after class to help a struggling student. I've seen them comforting the sick child. I've seen them directing the drama club after a long day in the classroom. I've seen them stepping between the bullies and their victims.

But as you will discover, these good and giving people sometimes feel isolated from each other and are unaware of the impact they're having on the world--I don't know why. Maybe it's because they're pretty tired at the end of the day.

So your grandpa has been busy singing the praises of unsung heroes. He's cheered on the teachers and education support professionals who are determined to make our public schools better for all. I hope some day, Zoe, that you, too, will find work that satisfies the soul as I have.

Always remember that your teachers want to do for you what their teachers did for them. They want to light you up with the knowledge of all that you can do and learn. For teachers, this is like hitting a homerun or winning a big prize.

Speaking of prizes, Zoe, I am certain you are destined for great things. So when you save the world and win the Nobel Prize for peace or literature or science--perhaps all three--please don't forget to thank the teachers who made it all possible.

Love,
Your grandpa Bob

Comments? E-mail Bob Chase at BobChase@nea.org