What profession do you admire most and why?

As a girl growing up in suburban America in the 70s, I wanted to be a public school teacher and so did all my friends. We LOVED Mrs. Murphy, our first grade teacher, so much that she accidentally got called “mom” several times a day. We played school outside of school all the time.

My grandmother was a kindergarten teacher in Worcester for decades and she would bring me into her class for a day about once per school year. Her classroom, like many, was a magical world unto itself. I’m pretty sure that parents back then would never have dreamed of intervening with the teachers’ plans.

My daughter also dreamed of being a teacher for many years and frequently conducted “school” for her stuffed animals. My mother was briefly a teacher in the 60s, before getting pregnant and losing her job because teachers couldn’t be pregnant then.

It’s so sad to read how horribly teachers are mistreated and bullied by far-right conservative parents and politicians in many US states now. It really is the most important job in the world.

PS: I highly recommend watching ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” created by Quinta Brunson. In my opinion, it’s the best show on network TV now.