Hi all. I want to thank you all that, again, for my second year of teaching, I have been your colleague and, I hope, your friend as well. I greatly appreciate all the work you are doing with the schoolchildren. This sentiment may sound weird coming from me; but I went through all kinds of teachers’ collectives and, believe me, I know what I’m saying. After Monday’s Easter program presented by our students, I was impressed! You did a great job and I’m glad that I could enjoy it.
The Conference “We Teach for a Life”, which I attended last week, showed me how great you all are. The main theme of the conference was “Let us not be overcome (by stress, pressure, weight of responsibility; or by difficult relationships involving parents, students, colleagues, ministry …)“ I recognize that you all are dealing with these issues every day– and you handle it! I’m really proud of you, and I am glad that I can be with you!
Teachers of first to fourth grade – I am proud that, although you are contending with complex textbooks, you encourage these great kids both to think and to have their own opinions, which they know to defend. I look forward to working with these children who, because of your instruction, can listen to their classmates and assist them in solving their problems … and I thank you.
Teachers of fifth to ninth grade and teachers of grammar school – it pleases me when we meet, talk, laugh, and sometimes even complain. 
Everything can be managed with great team. We all are individuals, and none of us is perfect, but we have a common goal. So, regardless of how we may feel in the moment, we love our children… we live for them. And that fills me with energy.
Today I am a teacher at a bilingual grammar school in Martin. Many of you have asked me why, after working in the business world, I am returning to the education system, and why I am now teaching in Martin. Clearly it is not because there are no schools where I live in Žilina. But I was looking for an “out-of-the-ordinary” kind of school, a school with compatible colleagues and a positive atmosphere. God brought me to you and I’m grateful to Him …!
Nothing can be compared to the realization that you helped somebody, that you inspired somebody for a good cause. Believe this … that nothing brings more satisfaction than the grateful look from a child to whom you were available just when he or she needed you. Suddenly you are that child’s hero–you can do no wrong! Please believe that there are many such students. Maybe they will not bring you flowers; maybe they will not write a celebration poem in your honor; they may forget to invite you to special events. And maybe they will never thank you. But remember that, like the law of inertia, which says: “a body will remain at rest or remain in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by another outside force”, so, my dear teachers, we are that force which ‘acts upon’ the children. I know that we point them in the right direction… I respect you, and therefore I’m really glad that I am your colleague.
Take this letter as a bouquet of flowers on the International Day of Teachers … or discard it… or ask me tomorrow if I meant it … And I will tell you, YES … every day
Mgr. Miroslava Konrádová
Teacher of Mathematics, Informatics and Descriptive Geometry
Lutheran High School in Martin
