High School Teacher Asks For ‘Grace' After Detailing All The Ways She Helps Students On Top Of Teaching All Day
She insisted that public educators are always doing their best, even with the odds stacked against them.
Drazen Zigic | Shutterstock We often hear public school educators admitting that a lot of their hard work and dedication go unnoticed and unappreciated. Teachers often work day in and day out without acknowledgment for their roles in shaping and educating young minds. And it goes way beyond lesson plans.
In a TikTok video, a high school teacher named KP insisted that teachers work tirelessly, in addition to teaching, to take care of the students they see every day, and we should start offering them more than gratitude.
The teacher asked for 'grace' for educators after detailing all the ways she helped students outside of teaching during a six-period day.
"Today I taught for six periods, and I subbed," KP began in her video. "I helped a young man find safe housing. I found a winter coat for a girl who didn't have one. I located a student's missing backpack and arranged for a replacement Chromebook for that student."
KP explained that she gave another student some cash for a haircut, made sure another student had enough food to last them through the weekend, listened to a student's lengthy story about a puppy, sat with a young girl who was dealing with cramps, and helped a male student going through his first heartbreak. KP walked another student to class so she didn't feel alone and saved a student's art project with super glue.
Her deeds didn't stop there. KP recalled having to write a card to a struggling student, run to a meeting, and then tutor a student before rushing back to her classroom to write a college recommendation letter for another student. Once the school day was over, KP came home but still wasn't done with work, as she had to create a lesson plan that took four hours.
KP's dedication and care for her students are things that are not even asked of her. Teachers aren't required to go above and beyond for their students. Still, because they spend several hours a day with them, they end up becoming second parents, confidants, and mentors who aren't just providing education but also support and, in some cases, resources.
Teachers are experiencing high levels of burnout from their professions.
Interestingly enough, according to the RAND Corporation, more female teachers reported feelings of burnout in 2024 (63 percent) than in 2021 (56 percent). The share of male teachers who reported feelings of burnout in 2024 was about the same as in 2021.
"We shouldn't just be concerned about teachers who leave," said Elizabeth Steiner, a senior policy researcher at RAND. "We also need to pay attention to teachers who stay. There's some evidence that teachers who are experiencing depression or high levels of stress don't give as high-quality assignments or as detailed feedback. What support do those teachers need?"
A RAND study in 2023 found that teachers are resigning or retiring at rates several percentage points higher than before COVID-19. Another RAND survey found that nearly 40 percent of high-poverty school districts were bracing for cuts when COVID-era federal funding expired in 2024.
It's disheartening that teachers who pour everything they have into their profession aren't more highly regarded.
But at the same time, there's something motivating and hopeful about teachers like KP as well, who, despite all of these obstacles, setbacks, and challenges, continue to show up for their students in ways that prove how important being an educator truly is.
Mikhail Nilov | Canva Pro
Public school teachers' resilience cannot be matched or replicated. No matter the circumstances, they never fail to go above and beyond.
"I don't want a single accolade. No teacher I know wants a pat on the back or gratitude. What they do need is grace," KP said. "I want you to know in your child's school, 30 to 50 teachers and support staff did that today, and we'll do it again tomorrow. It's what we signed up for, it's what we love, it's what makes us fulfilled."
KP continued, "I would encourage you to recognize even if you believe teachers and education staff are not working the hardest they've ever worked in the last two years, that nobody in the history of ever has been motivated by ugly. Loving kids is the purest form of beauty that exists, and it's always going to beat your ugly."
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.