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s the school year is winding to a conclusion, scores of children are anxiously awaiting the beginning of their summer vacation. I suspect that there are also an equal number of teachers preparing to clean out their desks and use the next couple of months to unwind and re-energize.

The role of a teacher certainly has changed throughout the years. Besides preparing lesson plans, educators are now also responsible for being nurses, consolers, cafeteria monitors, playground marshals, dispute counselors, and fight and bullying interventionists. And of course, there is the usual amount of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and a whole host of other maladies, including children who are suffering from malnutrition, physical abuse, or just a mild case of sniffles. Whatever the case, a teacher always seems to come to the rescue. As such, during this time of the year, I think it is incumbent upon students and even parents to single out a teacher or two and provide some thanks and praise for a job well done.

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