As a child, I remember waking up at four in the morning and hearing the computer’s keys being hit one after the other. I would go to the kitchen where the only light that filled the room was the computer screen. I would see my aunt, an elementary school teacher, working hard to finish grading papers and giving feedback to help her students improve. I knew from that day on that teachers are heroes. I looked up to teachers; the people who molded, and continue to mold my future.

A teacher. A leader. A person.

Over the summer many of us heard the rumors of a Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) strike, and a few of us were glad at the idea of starting school late, but few understood the meaning and effect behind the rumor of a strike.

According to DNAinfo journalist, Alex Nitkin, said “If there is no budget deal by November, CPS would cut 5,000 teachers by the start of the second semester.” This can be a vast game changer in education city-wide. This means certain classes will be cut due to less teachers and class sizes will be noticeably larger.

People tend to say “Your future is important. Your education is important,” and yet, if Illinois does not come up with the $480 million they will have no other choice but to cut teachers, affecting our future and our education.

Natalie Hernandez, Div.661, wants to become an English teacher and what motivated her to make this decision was her belief that the “future is in our hands.”

“I feel that having the opportunity to teach and work with students is rewarding. They learn from you not only what you were trained to teach, but real life lessons. Just like a student learns from the teacher, a teacher could also learn from their students,” said Hernandez.

My aunt always knew how to develop a relationship with her students and because of this she has former students from her fifth grade class invite her to their weddings and graduations. I have had many teachers who have guided me and who have impacted my life. Just like me, Hernandez has had many teachers who have also changed her life in a good way.

“I think they [teachers] had an impact in my life, since they didn’t strictly stay within the barriers of a teacher/student relationship, and most took on parent figures. They were kind, and were willing to give up their time to help me when I needed assistance” said Hernandez.

Many teachers throughout Lane have worked hard to become a teacher. They all have their own background stories and motivations that pushed them to this place in their life.

“Be your own ice cream flavor.”

Words of advice from Mr.Fine, an English teacher at Lane, who says “it was a long journey” for him to know that he wanted to become a teacher.

“I always loved learning but I never loved school because I got bullied in school really badly from kindergarten to seventh grade. It caused me to just silence myself. I kind of just wanted to disappear when I was at school. It was the only way I would feel more safe. If people didn’t see me, then they wouldn’t bully me,” said Fine, “Seventh grade was the first time that I had different teachers for different subjects, so I had my first english class and my teacher, Ms. Carly, had a hate free zone, which is something I’ve adapted in my classrooms, and it was a safe zone where she didn’t tolerate bullying and it was the first time I felt safe in a classroom..for the first time I started talking in class and participating..it was the first time I felt safe at school and I loved it so much to be in an english classroom that it kind of formed the rest of my life.”

Each teacher has a background story to what inspired or motivated them to become a teacher. Personal experiences like Fine’s molded him to become the teacher he is today.

Dr. Daly, World Language Department chair at Lane, knew she wanted to become a teacher ever since she was a little girl. Daly remembers how as a young child she would teach her younger brother and sister everything she knew, pretending to be a teacher. Daly remembers the first time she walked into Lane for her job interview and how impressed she was at the “beautiful history found in the hallways.”

“I was overjoyed to have the opportunity to be considered for a teaching position. When I was offered the job at the end of the interview, I was completely thrilled and as soon as I exited the building,” said Daly,”I called my grandmother to tell her the good news and I cried with tears of happiness.”

The background stories of Dr. Daly and Mr.Fine are stories that show how passionate they are about teaching and what brought them to the decision of moving on with their teaching careers. These are stories that open our eyes to see that every teacher, not only the teachers at Lane, have all worked hard to achieve their positions and they also have a reason, a motivation that pushed them to become teachers.

If the 5,000 teachers are laid off in January how will this affect teachers?

“I feel saddened that it [teachers being laid off] could even happen,” said Dr. Daly

“As department chair, it would put a lot of stress on our department and course offerings if some of our faculty are let go. As an educator, I do not want to see students having to suffer because of an issue with the district,” said Dr. Daly, “Our whole goal is to offer our students a great education, and laying off faculty would make that goal harder to achieve.”

My freshman year I entered Lane not knowing what to expect but teachers like Dr. Daly helped me to overcome my fear. Dr. Daly gave me the strength I needed to continue going on and to continue with my education. It is teachers like Dr.Daly and Mr.Fine who have helped push their students to do better, who have impacted lives in a way that changed the students but also the teachers themselves.

Berenice Anguiano, Div.676, dreams of becoming a teacher. Like Dr. Daly, Anguiano played school with her younger brother and sister. Throughout Anguiano’s high school career she has had many teachers, like Ms. Mikbel and Sra. Zuñiga, that have influenced her to become a teacher.

But what does being a teacher mean to the students?

“To me, being a teacher means getting to help future generations in becoming successful people,” said Anguiano, “Teachers are the ones who sort of lead us through this entire process.”

For Dr. Daly, being a teacher has also impacted her life in a positive way.

“Being a teacher has provided me with the honor of sharing my joy and my love of culture(s) and language with my students,” said Dr.Daly, “Every day I walk into Lane with a smile on my face, because this is my dream job- teaching students how to speak Spanish is the best career in the world!”

Just like you and I, a teacher is just your average joe. They do all they can to help their students, to help us, achieve our fullest potential. Just as teachers help us, we too should help them, support them and fight for them and their jobs, their careers.

We, parents, students, and anyone, should fight for our teachers. Teachers who have made an impression in our lives. We as students should show Illinois that we will not allow them to lay off our teachers without voicing our opinions and feelings.

It is emotional for me to imagine that by January certain CPS teachers will be laid off. Teachers that have lended a hand to each student who enters their classrooms. Everything they worked hard for could be over within seconds, but we can still fight for our teachers, for our future. Already students throughout the Chicagoland have done protests to demonstrate their support for teachers. On November 6th, CPS students gathered on Randolph St. to protest and the students united once again on November 13th. Although these protests might seem small, they are making a huge impact in the city of Chicago. They have started a movement throughout Chicago, demonstrating that students and teachers are being heard, not silenced.