The Untouched Tea

On the selfless love of a teacher

I walked into the staff kitchen this morning to see a very familiar scene – a lukewarm cup of tea with the tea bag still in it, untouched and getting colder by the minute.

I know what happened because it happens at least several times a week. One of the teachers ventured into the kitchen early this morning before students arrived to make themselves a cup of tea. While they waited for it to steep, something pulled them in another direction. And then another direction. And another direction. And the students arrived. Cheerful Good Mornings ensued. Classes began. And whoever it was that poured that tea, still hasn’t even had a second to remember that it’s still sitting in the kitchen, untouched.

This is a little tiny window into the selfless love which is demanded a million different ways every day of every one of our amazing teachers - and this year, more than ever.

The reality is, our current structure limits us tremendously in what we can pay our staff. Our teachers agree to a significantly reduced pay and a significantly increased workload. The mark of every DMCS staff is a genuine love of this Educational Mission and a willingness to give…and give… and give. They follow Mother Teresa’s model of “loving without counting the cost.”

Today, one small cost was untouched tea. Often it’s sacrificing one of the very few breaks they have to sit with a child who needs extra help. Sometimes it’s giving up a certain vacation which costs too much on a DMCS salary. Other times it’s giving up an hour of their evening to talk with a struggling parent.

There are a million ways that this loving crew gives – and the reality is that their sacrifices are the life-blood of this mission. And through their selfless love, our students are surrounded by true witnesses - who silently testify to a heroic life of sincere generosity and loving without counting the cost.

A shout out to the teacher whose cold tea is still in the staff room – and to all our amazing teachers whose daily YES to DMCS is keeping us alive.