Nearly every kid has accidentally called a teacher "mom" and felt embarrassed about it. In many ways, teachers are second parents to so many kids. Kids spend the hours of 8 AM to 3 PM at school, and if they're in elementary school, that whole time (outside of gym, recess, and electives) is spent with that one person. If a teacher is compassionate and present (and supported by their administration if we're going to go there), they can be an incredibly stable figure for kids who don't have other sources of stability in their lives. If a kid has negligent parents, a chaotic home life, or siblings that take up most of their parent's attention, the work of a teacher can go so much further than merely providing a solid educational foundation. An elementary school teacher recently found out the impact of this work is when his former student asked him to adopt her.
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