Do you remember your first teacher?

How about the first teacher to make a difference in your life?

I remember both.

I have a unique perspective.  My mom was an elementary school teacher.  I grew up in an elementary school, early summer and late summer meant the smell of chalk dust, freshly washed blackboards, the plastic-fresh-paper-rubber-crisp smell of brand new books and the sharp joy of hearing that CRACK as you snapped open the binding for the first time.

I grew up creating bulletin boards and organizing the cabinets and desks of elementary school classrooms.

I grew up watching men and women who were driven to teach, whose purpose in life it was to make a difference and I saw those who weren’t.  I saw those who were in it for the paycheck and the “easy schedules”.  I also saw who returned year after year after to year to set up their classrooms in un-airconditioned buildings.  Those two groups, were worlds apart.

I have seen first hand the difference between a teacher who is passionate about teaching, educating, making an impact, leaving a lasting impression on a child’s mind and heart and a teacher who’s teaching because that job provides the best vacation schedule.

Do you want to know the easiest way to tell which teachers are which?

Go to your child’s meet the teacher night and watch.  Take your child to school the first week of school and walk around a bit, watch.

Those teachers who have the passion, who are driven to share, to educate, to empower to make a difference.  Those teachers are the ones surrounded by past students, those teachers are the ones who are swarmed with hugs and hellos, those teachers are the ones that the parents wait to talk to, to greet, to smile at, to squeeze their hand in thanks, if even for just a moment.

Those are the ones who have more than a job, those are the ones who are living their passion for changing the future.

My mom was one of those teachers.

There was never a time out with my mom when we weren’t stopped by a past student, current student or parent wanting to talk to her, to thank her, to share stories and accomplishments with her, and my mom, she always had time for them.

A teacher’s day is never done, phone calls and now e-mails come in at all hours.  They spend money out of their own pockets to keep the classrooms going, to provide the little extras and sometimes even the necessities. They spend hours creating lesson plans, reading, grading and preparing.  It is not just the 8 to 3 for these amazing life changers; oh no their days can easily start 2 hours before the school bell rings and last until long after their students’ bedtimes.

I could go on and on, I could write about the Kindergarten teacher that my daughter had last year who is a blessing beyond words and a woman I shall cherish always, a woman my daughter still speaks of daily.  I could write about the darling woman who is making Princess’ First Grade Year so special already, a woman who is creative, vibrant, funny, passionate and sweet; who leaves her own little baby every day to give my daughter and 17 other students a brighter more passionate future.

But, I won’t because the clock ticks on and the hour grows late.

Instead I’ll share with you a few tidbits of information and then offer you a prize for sticking with me

I’ve always been inspired by my mom and other teachers and thought often in life that I wanted to be a teacher… Life, however, had other plans for me

When I was contacted by Emily and Cooper aka.. the Motherhood Divas about writing in partnership with the Clorox Power a Brighter Future program, I couldn’t say yes fast enough.  I kind of love Clorox and I am tremendously passionate about educators and education.

So many school districts are cutting funding for Arts and Music programs and some are even eliminating PE and recess and to me, that says that we as a society, as parents are failing our children.

It drives me bananas when I see people C&P press releases or contest blurbs or whatnot but this time, I’m doing it.  I couldn’t put this any better and I want to make sure that y’all get the information and see how easy it is to nominate a school, a program. To MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

• Each year parents hold fundraisers (oh hai.. yes I am PTA Vice President and Fundraising Chair *cough*) to keep enrichment programs in schools. Now there’s another way to raise money for your child’s school: Power A Bright Future, created by the Clorox Company, will help brighten kids’ futures with school grants to help fund critical programs. Parents and teachers can help kids continue to learn and play by nominating their school programs for a Power A Bright Future grant from the Clorox Company.
• Since 1980, Clorox has donated $80 million to non-profit organizations and community programs with a focus on schools. This year, the company is awarding four grants, totaling $110,000, to help fund school programs that will brighten and enrich the lives of kids.
• There are multiple ways to participate and win. In addition to nominating your school and voting, participants have the chance to win a variety of daily prizes including supplies for your school and coupons for Clorox^® Disinfecting Wipes, Clorox^® Regular-Bleach and Clorox2.

• As part of the Power A Bright Future grant program, Clorox is seeking nominations for school programs for a chance to win a $50,000 grand-prize grant or one of three $20,000 grants to help provide critically needed resources to school programs that enrich kids’ lives and create brighter futures. In November, four schools will be chosen to receive grants and the opportunity to impact the lives of children in their communities.
• ·   To nominate a new or existing school program, visit www.Clorox.com from August 12 to September 27, 2010 and choose the category that best represents your idea.
• The three categories include: Learn, Play or Create. Upload a photo and a short summary of how the grant would make a difference, for example:

1. Learn:Education-focused programs (e.g. establishing a school recycling program)
2. Play:Sports and exercise-focused programs (e.g. building a playground)
3. Create: Arts-focused programs (e.g. funding an after-school music program)

• ·Nominators will receive exclusive Clorox classroom tools and the chance to win coupons for Clorox^® Disinfecting Wipes, Clorox^® Regular-Bleach and other great prize packs daily.
• Once the nomination period has closed, we will leave the voting up to you. Between October 4 and November 1, be sure to vote for your favorite nominee. To encourage votes for their entries, nominators will receive a “Promote-it!” kit with tips on how to encourage votes, like sharing on Facebook and an e-mail for friends and family members.

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I know that was a TON of information but I sincerely hope that y’all read it, thank you for sticking with me and I hope that you have clicked the link and made your nominations and asked your friends to do the same.

So, here’s the deal.  YES, I am receiving a compensation for participating and writing this post. The money will go back into my daughter’s school.  I’m going to use it to purchase extra supplies and probably a bit of it to cook up some goodies for the wonderful people who work at my daughter’s school (and my son’s pre-school, too!)

However, I do have a Clorox Power a Bright Future Gift Pack to give away!!!

It includes:

• Clorox Disinfecting Wipes
• Dr. Harley Rotbart’s book Germ Proof Your Kids
• Clorox Hand Sanitizer
• Tissues
• Fun stickers
• Crazy cutting scissors
• Markets/pencils/crayons

Here’s how to enter:

• I want to know your best memory of the educator (teacher, coach, principal, counselor, secretary) that made the biggest impact in your life (MANDATORY)
• BONUS: tweet this and leave in a separate comment

This contest runs from Sept 2nd 11:30 PM CST to Sept 5th, 2010 6 PM CST