Excerpt from….

 

Who Builds the Builders?

 

 

                There are so many things you could do with your life.  You could decide to build houses.  Or sell cars.  Or you could determine to build bridges.  Or grow crops.  Or design tall buildings.  Or write books.  Or act out parts on the

 

24” x 36” Poster

stage…It’s true.  There are many, many things you could do with your life.  You could decide to do any of these things.  And more.  Or, you could decide to teach…Perhaps you could teach.  You could perhaps teach the people who build these things and do these things.  And more.  It is teachers who build the people who build these things.  And more.  Much, much more.  They build the builders.”

 

 Who Builds The Builders (excerpt)  © 1986  Francis Xavier Trujillo, Ed.D.

All Rights Reserved.  Unauthorized use subject

to full enforcement of the law.

 

 

 

 

People are talking

…and here is what they’re saying

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

            “…we gave it (the poster) to 36 teachers who were recognized this year by the school district for the quality of their teaching.”

 

Principal, California

 

 

            “I had it professionally framed and gave it to my mother on the occasion of her retirement from teaching.  At the dinner, I was given the time to read it aloud.  Everyone was in tears.   About a hundred people came up and said they also want a copy.”

 

Housewife, Ohio

 

 

            “We’ve been giving this poster to beginning students in our teacher training program for about 10 years now.  They, in turn, take it out with them into the various school sites where they work with experienced, ‘master’ teachers.  I’ve seen the poster now in about 12 or 15 different schools here in the county.  You can be very happy knowing that this piece is having a very wonderful impact on all who see it.”

 

Professor, Washington

 

 

“This is the ‘Granddaddy’ of them all!  I wrote this back in 1985-86.  I guess I was thinking it’s about time the general public awakened to the perception of teachers as builders.  Indeed, this is very much the case.  Teachers build.  As I have said elsewhere (see our bumper stickers), teachers build the future, one kid at a time!

 

My feeling at the time was that if the public developed an awareness of the true significance of teaching, everything else would change.  This awareness would do so very much to attract the most academically talented into teaching, more appropriately reward those already in the profession, and even go a long ways toward retaining those individuals sometimes lost to other more lucrative careers.  Since 1987, literally thousands of school people have used ‘Builders’ to inspire those considering teaching as a profession and to recognize and honor those typically ‘under-appreciated’ teachers, those ‘forgotten, unsung heroes,’ the good and decent people already in the profession.  This piece will always be very special to me.”          

 

-- Frank Trujillo

 

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