May 7-13 has been designated Teacher Appreciation Week.

It is a time set aside to appreciate the roles and responsibilities of America's teachers and to salute them for all they do for our nation's young people.

I hope that this kind of appreciation for teachers can go far beyond a symbolic week established for that purpose. Indeed, I hope it can transcend into a state of mind that is always with us, just like the influence of a good teacher.

All of us can look back and find exemplary teachers in our past who honestly made a difference in our lives because of their influence. It was a teacher who made those mysterious designs called letters turn into meaningful words and sentences. It was a teacher who took us from simple counting to trigonometry and calculus.

A teacher opened up the worlds of the past, present and future with simple physical tools such as textbooks and chalk by adding the spiritual qualities of caring and devotion.

As our tools of the trade have evolved to include computers, fiber optics and cyberspace, it has always been the abstract qualities of sincerity, devotion and a love for teaching and learning and students that have made teaching the noblest profession of them all.

And come to think of it, it was a teacher who sparked the intellectual capacity of those pioneers and inventors who have brought us the staggering technological advances of the recent past. Somebody must be doing something right.

In an essay titled “The Unsung Hero,” Earnest Miner remarks, “Admittedly, teachers have never really been given their just dues, honor, respect, nor recognition as other professionals in our society. Be it known, these unsung heroes have the most difficult job in the world, and it indeed takes a special breed to hang in there day after day, month after month, and year after year.”

As the role of the teacher continues to change, encompassing many responsibilities formerly handled by home and extended family, teachers have had to do more, yet somehow be appreciated less.

As the superintendent of the Coweta County Schools, I feel it is my responsibility to publicly acknowledge our teachers for accepting the ever-growing tasks before them and for continuing to teach and care for our students.

We are not perfect; rather, we are human. Yet, may the very act of being human be our saving grace. Let it allow us to admit and learn from our mistakes, to adapt in the midst of change, to remain calm in the midst of chaos and condemnation, and to never lose sight of our goal: the advancement of humankind.

All humankind, the rich and poor and gifted and not gifted and the average — whatever that may be — are all deserving of the best we can give them.

I could go on here to once again mention the several outstanding, award-winning teachers of whom Coweta County is so proud. But I also insist on acknowledging all those who are seldom or never singled out as winners. Every teacher who changes a student for the better is a winner; and so is the student. Every teacher who gives a student an enriching experience, whether in academics or athletics or the arts, is a winner.

Every teacher who can take the constantly changing demands of today's complex society along with its all-to-often unfounded criticism and keep his or her head held high and continue to serve students is a winner.

It is our desire in Coweta County to hire and keep the best-trained, best-performing teachers possible for our students. Coweta teachers, you have my respect, my appreciation and my support. You are the real reason that Coweta County is a place where good schools are a great investment.

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