Teachers Deserve Our Respect: Reflections After a School Tragedy

Originally written by Lisa Myers (lisamyers.org). She gave permission to repost this piece.

Please share your thoughts.

Dear America,

It feels unusual to hear so many voices praising teachers for their selflessness, dedication, and love for students. We appreciate the recognition, but many of us listen with a tilted head, puzzled—because for years another narrative has dominated public conversation.

In recent times, teachers have often been blamed for society’s problems: portrayed as lazy, motivated only by pay and vacations, inadequate in skill or intelligence, unwilling to accept accountability, and out of touch with students. Popular culture and some political rhetoric have amplified the worst examples and suggested that teachers deserve nothing but criticism.

Yet in the space of a single devastating weekend, the tone changed. After a horrific tragedy, the country saw a different truth: the profound care and courage present in the vast majority of classrooms. That sudden shift is not because teachers transformed overnight. We are the same people we were the Friday before—committed professionals who chose this work deliberately.

What the nation witnessed was the unfiltered heart of teachers: a willingness to put students’ safety and well-being first. There were no advocacy groups, no policy presentations, and no debates about evaluation metrics—just real, human responses from educators who love their students.

For most teachers, devotion does not look like martyrdom, but it does mean a sacrificial life. It means full days in the classroom followed by long evenings preparing lessons, grading, and designing meaningful learning. Beyond visible tasks, teachers also do important unseen work every day, such as:

• Observing students’ emotional needs and validating both their struggles and successes.
• Communicating in ways that show respect and convey belief in students, even when that respect is not always returned.
• Advocating for support services that help students thrive academically and emotionally.
• Volunteering for extracurricular activities to support students’ lives beyond academics.
• Coordinating fundraisers to secure classroom resources that the budget does not provide.
• Using personal funds to fill gaps when resources fall short.

These daily commitments reveal the deeply sacrificial nature of many teachers’ lives. Last Friday, that dedication was tragically and heroically apparent in the actions of Rachel Davino, Dawn Hochsprung, Anne Marie Murphy, Lauren Rousseau, Mary Sherlach, and Victoria Soto. Their choice to protect their students at the cost of their own lives reflected a lifetime of commitment to children. In many cases, those willing to die for others were already living for them each day.

As time moves forward and the immediacy of this loss becomes memory, we urge you not to let this glimpse of teachers’ hearts fade. Resist reverting to broad, negative generalizations based on the shortcomings of a few. Most educators are tireless advocates for students—acting not for recognition but from conviction.

Appreciation and respect matter. When communities treat teachers with dignity—through fair pay, reasonable expectations, and public respect—education improves. Many solutions to challenges in schools begin with a culture that values teachers and trusts their professional judgment.

In short: honor the example of those who gave everything to protect children by valuing the daily, often unseen work that teachers do. Treat educators with the same respect and gratitude you expressed in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy. That sustained respect could help unlock many answers for our schools and our children’s futures.