I am responding to Joseph Roy’s piece from Sunday, Sept. 17 in which he supported TABOR. He mentioned the planned celebration for educators and said, “…educators would not show up for recognition on their own time.” As an educator, I would like to let Roy know what I have done and continue to do on my time and with my money.

1. I have spent $250 this fall for school supplies.

2. I have held a child in my arms, consoling her after she watched her father being arrested.

3. I call parents before school, during evenings and weekends.

4. I spend weeks during the summer attending classes or workshops and working in my classroom.

5. I attend funerals for parents, siblings and sadly, students, sharing their grief because I truly love the children I teach.

6. Every year, my husband and I spend 17 unpaid hours on a Saturday taking two buses of history students to Boston.

I am just one of thousands of educators who could share a list like this from their experiences, yet some people seem to look at our profession as one which bleeds public coffers and is not worth celebrating. As a 21-year veteran of education, I am finally earning as much as my son-in-law made his first year out of college.

Would I attend a celebration for educators on my own time and at my own expense? You bet your life I would.

Cheryl Ellis, Litchfield