We seem to have an issue with teachers. In the past year, the Trump Administration has taken repeated aim at our nation’s education system. Already, the Department of Education has begun to be dismantled in favor of Trump’s more conservative agenda. Through it, universities have seen their academic independence attacked, with federal funding being used as a heavy weapon. Simultaneously, public schools continue to fight alone against declining literacy rates: Nearly 40% of fourth graders now read below a “basic” level — a sobering indicator of just how much our government has failed our education system.
In more recent news, the DOE has recently struck education and teaching from its list of “professional” degrees. The move restricts students from taking out loans to cover for their degree, putting a major roadblock in the way of would-be teachers. This comes in light of a National Center for Education Statistics report that in the 2024-2025 school year, 69% of school districts struggled to fill teaching vacancies. As a result of Trump’s loan cutbacks, these gaps will only grow.
Caught in the middle of these sharp political changes, are the people who fight to hold this self-destructive system together: our teachers. Navigating a reality where even reading a children’s book about social acceptance can turn into a fireable offense and a national flashpoint, our teachers have been pushed onto the front lines of society’s culture wars. Already, our mentors are chronically underpaid and horrendously overworked. So why must they bear the consequences of politicians willing to throw false accusations of “indoctrinations” and “political agendas” at them? Teachers provide one of the most essential services in our society — they should not be forced to justify their contributions or defend their curriculums. Let them live.
As a nation, we need to pause and reflect on just how much teachers have shaped our lives. Through their classrooms, we are introduced to the necessary skills to carry us forward in life. In our schools, we learn valuable lessons in the maths, sciences, histories and arts. We are taught to read with depth, write with clarity and think with precision. Without the educational guidance of the teachers we grew up under, few of us would be where we are today. I personally doubt that many of the students at this university would be able to call themselves Huskies without the teachers who pushed us, encouraged us and gave us the knowledge we needed to succeed.
But a teacher’s influence reaches far beyond test scores and a high school transcript. From a young age, some of our very first examples of what an adult should be, outside of the home life, are our teachers. Through both their lessons and actions, we learn the timeless values of equity, acceptance, decency and the need to care for our peers. We should be thanking teachers for their impacts on our character, not rejecting them.
I was in high school when one of my English teachers explained why teaching was so important to her. Having known her at the time, I expected something straightforward: A passion for writing, a love of literature, maybe a personal connection to some historical great. Instead, she shared with us something far more meaningful. Our knowledge of Shakespeare and The Great Gatsby would inevitably fade, she said. So too would our proficiency in synthesis essays and rhetorical analysis. What we would carry with us were the habits of mind she sought for her class. She showed us to think critically, to be able to draft clear arguments and then refine them as new information made itself available. Her class was not about the works of long dead authors. It was about setting us up to be the best we can. That, she said, was the real purpose of education.
My former teacher has since retired and though her lesson came across as slightly cliche, I think about it a lot. I credit her — and later, her husband, another remarkable teacher and mentor — for sparking my decision to pursue a secondary major in English, with a concentration in education. I hope that someday soon, I too will be able to pay forward her lessons and set the next generation up for greatness.
Teachers like her are the reason our education system deserves more. Rather than budget cuts and political crossfire, we ought to be treating it with the respect it deserves. Too often, we judge our schools in terms of test scores and rankings. These are important metrics, but they pale in comparison to the real measurement of our education system — the types of people it produces. Every single student who is able to graduate with the skills to think critically, write clearly and approach the world with empathy is another argument of why our teachers matter so much.
That’s why our current climate is so troubling. When we allow policy makers to reduce teachers in value, we erode the foundational work our educators carry out every single day. Our teachers’ lessons don’t end at the bell. They live on through our choices, our careers and our very senses of self. We cannot afford to ignore that.
I end with a simple request to whoever reads this article. Write a quick email to that teacher or professor who meant so much in your life. Even if it’s just a short note, take the time to thank them for all they’ve done and all they’ve given. They deserve the gratitude.