When educators finish college they dream of being in the classroom with students, teaching them, seeing them mature and grow into productive and thoughtful young adults. They do not dream of sitting behind a computer staring at 25 tiles, trying to teach during a pandemic.

Teachers are a HUGE group of unsung heroes of the pandemic, putting together virtual learning plans with only a few weeks notice, mastering Zoom and Blackboard and a litany of other teaching platforms that even I, a parent, do not understand. They have also had to put in WAY more hours of unpaid time, responding to emails from parents and students at all hours of the day and night, meeting with students for one-on-one tutoring sessions over Zoom, and working hard to not only support their students' educational needs, but their emotional needs as well. Many teachers have taken on the role of counselor or social worker, being a support system for students who need someone to connect with for emotional support through these truly awful and scary times.

For their continued dedication, TEACHERS gets our special Good Guy Crookie Award for 2020.