Teachers are a great investment in our future

On April 25, I attended the S.C. Teacher of the Year Awards Banquet at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.

As the teachers representing each district across the state processed into the banquet hall, I took in their proud-yet-humble smiles, while following along in a program that had quotes from all the honorees, expressing their beliefs about education.

One quote from Tonya Blythe Beaty in Spartanburg School District 7 really caught my eye: “When we are spending time with our own families, we are wondering if the child in foster care is adjusting to his or her new family. When we settle down for dinner, we are hoping that the child who asks for extra food at lunch every day will have something to eat that evening. The students are always on our minds.”

As the daughter of a 28-year S.C. educator, I know firsthand that this is exactly what South Carolina’s teachers do every single day.

This special evening reminded me that teaching is not a profession; it is a calling. We should all do everything we can to thank and celebrate our teachers for the incredible sacrifices they make and for the love, creativity and passion they share in order to give our children hope and a future.

I congratulate BMW, Time Warner Cable, Michelin, the R.L. Bryan Co., Leadership South Carolina and all the other corporate sponsors who made this evening possible.

Children are our state’s greatest asset. Every investment we make in the people who guide, teach and nurture them is sure to pay big dividends down the road.

Take some time this week to remember your favorite teacher, the one who inspired you to greatness. Then go out and do a little something to thank and reward someone you know who is teaching today.

LINDSEY MOORE

Columbia