Our Classrooms - True Habitats for Humanity

Hammer?  Check!  Boots?  Check!  Waiver?  Check!  I was packed up and ready to pick up my friend, Lisa this morning.  We were headed off to Millbury to help build a house for Habitat for Humanity with other Framingham teachers through a project sponsored by the Framingham Teacher's Association.  Did anyone read about this in the paper?  Has anyone read anything positive about a teacher's union lately? I was so proud to be working alongside other dedicated teachers who woke up at 6:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning, drove forty-five minutes down the Mass. Pike and were energized and happy just to do something good for another family they didn't even know.  This would only be surprising to someone who didn't know a teacher.  For those who do, you know that this story is simply an outgrowth of what happens each and every day in classrooms around our country:  teachers giving back to their communities. Lisa and I spent the day spackling the walls of bedrooms in which young children would soon live and grow and I couldn't help but think of the correlation to our "day jobs."   So much of what we do has nothing to do with math, science, social studies and language arts.  It has nothing to do with test scores, assessments and data.  So much of teaching has to do with creating classrooms where students are safe, cared for and free to grow and learn.  We strive to ensure that our students have homes, food, and clothing. Teachers serve as  role models to help students navigate through the world towards becoming good citizens. 
Our classrooms - true habitats for humanity.