Teachers know the unexplainable excitement when a bell rings to start teaching, and the amazing joy of welcoming a child to class. Teachers know chalk dust on their pants, gum on their shoes, paper cuts on their fingers and ink stains on their front right pocket.

Veteran teachers know how to teach in the dark, in construction zones, and in closets. They know how to eat in 10 minutes with one eye.

They know kids who work harder to just get on a bus each morning than some kids do to make straight As. They know kids who sleep in cars, on the floor, in a different house each week, in the back room at a fast food restaurant, and in class.

Teachers know the alive sound of a full hallway of laughing kids and the splendid silence of an entire classroom of students reading a great book.

They know questions to make a seasoned detective blush. "Did you have toilets when you were young?" "Is that ketchup on your tie?" "Do we really have to do this?" and, the exasperating, "Is this for a grade?"

Teachers know how to diagnose illness, react to multiple emergencies, fix Spiderman's broken arm, counsel love-sickness, duck and roll, and clean up anything. They know when to hold 'em and when to scold 'em.

Teachers know what it is like to make a difference, to touch the future; to do important, worthy work; and they know they cannot care too much, give too much, or work too hard.

Teacher know the joy of driving the oldest car in the parking lot, getting a slightly used set of dictionaries, and receiving notes with their name misspelled.

Teachers know the joy of a needy hug, being led by the hand to see a picture, the power of "you can do it" and the gratification of a child bragging on himself to his parents.

Teachers are negotiators, motivators, referees, event planners, ministers, lawyers, set designers, cooks, psychiatrist, stain specialists, odor supervisors, critics, academics, and cheerleaders.

Teachers know that being with the kids, getting to teach, and feeling proud of what they do is something only they can understand.

We all need to remember what teachers know.