There is an unfortunate common theme among school administrators, particularly those of younger children, and it is that they seem to dislike children. Not all of course, but far too many. My mother works at a middle school and the stories she comes home with are heartbreaking. I will never understand, if you don’t like kids, don’t work with them.

The way that some teachers treat their students is something that will stick with said students forever. Obviously everybody has bad days, but I’m talking about consistent disrespectful behavior toward the kids. When children are at a young age, like kindergarten, their brains are extremely impressionable. They will easily pick up on this type of behavior from teachers, but they won’t be able to understand why they’re being treated this way.

What makes matters even worse is that it doesn’t end at just hurting students’ feelings. If a teacher doesn’t care about how you feel, chances are they don’t care too much about what you get out of the class either, and due to this many students could miss valuable information that they will someday need. That, or they could get a simple grasp of the material without understanding it in depth and detail, which is just as detrimental.

But not all teachers are like this.

Shannon Grimm of the Willis Independent School District north of Houston is a good example. Noticing one of her students seemed sad, Grimm talked to her kindergarten student and found out other students were making fun of the girl because of her short hair. Grimm could have, and likey did do several things, but she’s receiving attention for doing what many would not: she cut her hair to match the style of her student in a sign of solidarity.

There are many other amazing teachers out there, and I have been lucky to encounter a few myself throughout my educational career. Teachers who genuinely care about their students and take pride and passion into giving them the information they need to go out in the world can really change their students’ lives. Unfortunately, not every teacher is this way and that’s a shame.