From the Superintendent's Seat:
Mothers, Celebrate Your Day
By Dr. Carole G. Hankin with Randi T. Sachs
Yes, there are those who say that Mother’s Day is just a profit-maker for the greeting card company, but then they are probably not mothers themselves. With all due respect to fathers, mothers deserve far more appreciation than flowers and a card once a year. Of course, the truth is, even with all the work it entails, being a mother is the most wonderful, incomparable experience on earth.
I was a young mother, and nothing makes you grow up quicker than being responsible for a new baby. I remember reading all the books, listening to all the advice of grandparents, friends, neighbors, and everyone else who thought they had something to tell me. Well, I may have heard it all, but I listened only to whatever advice I thought was worthwhile. Most of all, I took my cues from my children. I learned through experience what they needed from me, and the best ways that I could help them get through all the passages and milestones of their lives. The years have gone by very fast. As a Superintendent, I feel a great responsibility for all my students—there are nearly 7,000 in my district. It’s a large number, but I never allow myself to forget that every one of these students is someone’s very dear child, and his or her needs are unique and ever-changing. Having had three children with very different strengths, academic styles, and interests helped teach me some important tenets of education. As a mother, I saw first hand the need to individualize instruction and programs and the need to offer choices that appeal to a child’s interests in order to provide motivation. I saw that children learn at different rates of speed and through different methods.
In fact, it was being a mother that inspired me to go back to school and devote my professional career to education. Thinking of my own children, I couldn’t imagine anything more important than their having excellent teachers. I wanted to be one, and eventually, I chose to pursue administration, where I could help many more students by ensuring that they had the best teachers.
This Mother’s Day, we wish all mothers a day of celebration and appreciation of the very important job that you do each day. A mother is her child’s first teacher. She often starts the moment he or she is born, teaching a child to be calm and to feel loved as she holds the infant in her arms. If all goes well, the teaching will never stop.#
