We can see some of the things they carry: school supplies like markers, books, paper, and so much more; fun and engaging lesson plans tucked into planners; hours spent teaching and re-teaching students until they know everything they need to know; emails and phone calls and meetings to support students and families. Often, these activities are carried beyond their working hours. Schoolwork is carried home to be graded. Brainstorming new ways to teach in an engaging way is carried to the grocery store to create new, snack-filled math lessons.

But there are many invisible things that teachers carry, too. The joy and pride that comes from their students’ success. The fear and frustration of their struggles. Teachers carry the weight of being prepared for every question and finding the answers to all the questions they can’t answer. They carry students’ hopes and dreams for the future, as well as their fears. And they carry the pressure to make sure every student is as prepared as possible, regardless of pandemics, natural disasters, and anything else that can impede opportunities to learn.

And teachers gladly, proudly, carry all these things. They carry these things because they know that doing can change lives, that students can feel seen, can learn, and can be inspired to keep learning. They carry it with heart and understanding. They carry it with resilience. And above all, they carry it with the unwavering belief that every student can succeed.

To show our thanks, The Learning Alliance recently distributed tote bags to every SDIRC educator and staff member to help them carry the physical things and symbolically carry everything else.