To the editor: Teachers’ dedication can’t be measured by attending extracurricular activity
The Chester Telegraph | Nov 10, 2026 | Comments 1
Respectfully, Beverly Boke, (The Chester Telegraph, Nov. 9: To the editor: Why so few faculty at the Green Mountain student play?) this perspective is unfair to teachers and reflects an outdated expectation that educators must sacrifice their personal lives to prove their commitment to students.
Teachers support students in countless ways, many of which happen behind the scenes and long after the school day ends. Their dedication should not be measured by how many attend a Saturday afternoon performance. Teachers have families, personal responsibilities, commitments, and lives outside of school, just like everyone else.
Putting on a play is undoubtedly a tremendous undertaking, and the students and faculty involved deserve recognition and appreciation. However, suggesting that the absence of all but two faculty members demonstrates a lack of care or support is both presumptuous and insulting. Did you volunteer your time for the play, as teaching was a calling for you!
Teaching is a profession, not a 24-hour obligation. Calling it a vocation or a labor of love should never become justification for expecting teachers to continually surrender their personal time. Their commitment to students should be recognized through the work they do every day, not judged by their attendance at extracurricular events on their days off.
If we truly value educators and want to retain excellent teachers, we need to respect their boundaries rather than shame them for having lives beyond the classroom.
“Supporting students is important. Respecting the people who teach them is equally important.”
Pete Cherubini
Chester
Filed Under: Commentary • Letters to the Editor
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Thank you, Pete. Teachers are under attack enough, and to be criticized for not coming to a school play on their time off, is simply not fair.
Most teachers, as you know, bring work home with them, spending countless hours doing work they do not get paid for while home on their own time. They also often spend their own money for supplies and materials. The majority of teachers go above and beyond, every single day.
Finding new things to complain about seems to be a theme around here, these days. School plays and concerts are for family, friends, our community, and other students to enjoy… if attendance was low, I feel badly for the kids, of course. However, that is not the fault of the teachers. Perhaps the school can work harder to promote these events in the future.
Wanting the kids to be supported is of course the right thinking, but blaming teachers for not coming is simply not fair. If anything, the responsibility lies with the school and its administrators, for allowing the music and theater programs to fall into a bad state. I hope it continues to recover.