Sitting in my office this Labor Day weekend, I put the finishing touch on daily schedules; double-check each student’s teacher assignment, ensuring he/she is in the correct classroom; and walk the playground examining each piece of equipment for safety. My school is ready for the 2016-17 school year.

As the principal of an elementary school, I have a lot to think about — is the building clean, when are the bells going to ring, will students have a warm meal to fill their bellies, are teachers prepared to teach and are students ready to learn?

My job is minuscule compared to the job of a teacher. Teachers spend the summer attending classes, conferences, lesson planning, meeting with peers and principals and reading the newest research preparing to teach children for 180 days. Teachers constantly work to hone their craft. The myth of teachers working six and a half hours a day while having summer and holidays off is naive.

My wife and I share a not-so-funny joke on the first day of every school year, “See you in June!” My wife, who teaches fourth grade at a local school, arrives to work by 7 a.m., teaches all day, returns home around 6 p.m., grabs a quick bite and nap then works until 10 p.m. grading papers, planning lessons for the following day and answering emails and calls from parents. Teachers work 365 days a year in nine and a half months. The amount of time a teacher works is inconsequential compared to the positive effect he or she has on the children of our community. I see teachers everyday support kids who struggle emotionally, embrace kids who feel different and encourage students who are ready to reach for the stars. Teachers push each student past what he/she feel he/she is intellectually and educationally capable of.

Teachers offer a hug, compassion and love when a child discloses that his/her parents are divorcing. Teachers refuse to accept excuses when a kid feels the work is too hard. Instead of excuses, the teacher offers support, kindness and alternate options to learning. Teachers accept students of all sizes, nationalities, heritage, abilities and struggles and allow each kid to find his/her own voice.

In the last two months I’ve heard:

• “Those who can’t, teach.”

• “Teachers only work a few months a year and are paid better than doctors.”

• “The problem with public education is you can’t fire a teacher.”

• “Public school is a failure. Students should be allowed to choose where they go to school.”

• “You can’t argue that every private school is better than any public school.”

I attempt to debate the owners of these thoughts to no avail then offer a simple question, “When was the last time you were in a public school?” The answer is always, “When I was a student.” Critics seldom have any practical experience of the schools they criticize.

Public schools today are different. Public schools accept ALL students — students with physical limitations, students with behavioral struggles, students with emotional disabilities, average learners and students who are academically exceptional. Public schools represent the communities they serve.

With this diverse population of students, public school teachers must be educators, psychologists, sociologists, nurses, parents, grandparents, researchers, coaches, counselors and a friend. Instead of condemnation, teachers deserve praise.

Teachers on the first days of school will ask their students to write, “What I did on my summer vacation.” I suggest, urge and plead that the readers of this column visit with a teacher in our community and ask, “What did you do this summer?” I’m sure the teacher will share a kayak trip, vacation to Canada, trip to Glacier National Park and possibly visits to Priest Lake. I doubt the teacher will share the school retreat he/she attended, the conference he/she attended or the books he/she read.

It is time to stop vilifying the people who educate our children. Teachers work hard to ensure every child reaches his or her full potential, but teachers are also human. Teachers need praise. If you appreciate your child’s teacher, let him/her know. Show appreciation by volunteering in your student’s classroom, by sending a quick note to your child’s teacher or by stopping by and saying, “Thank you.”

If you chronically criticize teachers and public education and have not been in a classroom recently, email me. I will give you a tour of my school and let you see the amazing potential of children in our community and the dedication of the teachers who teach them. I am positive if you see real kids learning from real teachers, your opinion of public education will change for the positive!

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Send comments or other suggestions to William Rutherford at bprutherford@hotmail.com or visit pensiveparenting.com.