Last week the Detroit Regional Chamber released its State of Education Report signaling that changes are needed to our educational system to guarantee the economic prosperity for the region. As a region and as a country our students are already academically behind students in other countries.
Also, this past weekend, Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg announced that he wants to raise teacher pay, stressing that educators need to be paid “like doctors” and honored “like soldiers.”
I love the thought of honoring our teachers like soldiers. We each have a teacher that affected our life and there are many teachers teaching the next CEO or founder of a company that will create a product that will solve some big problem, even in high school.
I work with YouthEntrepreneurs® (YE), a national nonprofit organization that provides educators with free resources through YEAcademy.org to teach students entrepreneurial and economic principles. YE has grown in Michigan from 10 schools last year to 27 this year. They are growing in other parts of the country as well.
I challenge every media outlet to find a teacher to honor each week. I can help find a teacher or better yet, leverage your social media channels to have people nominate a teacher.
It’s time we help our children look up to their teachers as to do athletes and actors. Mayor Pete is right. Our teachers are heroes in the classroom and out. They make tremendous sacrifices to providing our kids with the tools to succeed. It is time we find a way to honor and let them know how much we value them.
