I loved kindergarten. I often wish I could go back to those long days of napping, coloring and learning my ABC’s, but most of all I wish I could go back and tell my kindergarten teacher thank you.

Before now, I have often considered kindergarten teachers people who never wanted to grow up; people who refused to leave those long days of coloring, napping and learning their ABC’s.

After meeting one of my best friend’s mother, who is a kindergarten teacher, and living with a soon-to-be kindergarten teacher I have nothing but tremendous respect for the work they do.

Kindergarten teachers are not simply people who refuse to grow up. They are educated adults who have a tremendous effect on how every child in their classroom grows up. Kindergarten teachers are the professionals who teach everyone the basics of learning, which are the most important aspect of all schooling we receive in our life.

Some may think, oh wow, it’s really hard to teach someone their ABC’s or how to color inside the lines, but kindergarten from a teacher’s point of view is much more than that. I’m sure I sound like a broken record to all of those early childhood education majors down the hall from me, but the way you talk to a child or the way you grade his or her assignments can have an effect on the child’s future learning capabilities.

Kindergarten isn’t like high school where teachers are given students who, for the majority if not all, know how to read and behave in a classroom. I’m not dissing high school teachers here. I’m just pointing out some of the behind the scenes work kindergarten teachers don’t get credit for. For instance, think about how art and coloring during early childhood enhances imagination, which Einstein declared one of the most valuable aspects of the mind. Think about how crucial learning the alphabet and how to count are. It was our kindergarten teachers who taught or introduced us to all of these things.

I read an article in Tuesday’s Chicago Tribune about a woman who taught kindergarten at a Chicago school, and her classroom had 36 students. This number of students is eight more than the maximum number of students allowed in a Chicago kindergarten classroom. One photo of the teacher showed a woman surrounded by rambunctious children trying to calm then all down at once. Another photo showed the teacher with a distressed look on her face trying to console a crying kindergartner.

Just from looking at the teacher’s face in these photos, I couldn’t help but want to help her baby sit, which is what she said she felt like she was doing with that many children running around and feeding off of each other’s behavior. I babysat when I was in junior high and high school, and I know how exhausting watching one to three children can be. I can’t even imagine how exhausted this Chicago teacher was trying to teach and look after 36 children.

Another reason why I have so much respect for kindergarten teachers is because they do have one of the hardest and most important jobs offered and get paid the least of all teachers.

I know the material middle school and high school teachers have to teach is more advanced, but think about what I mentioned earlier and how kindergarten teachers have to learn how to talk to and interact with children because they know everything they do can influence the children’s future learning capabilities and behavior.

That’s a pretty big job to handle.

So, Mrs. Jackson, if this column makes its way to you, I’d like to say thanks for putting up with me in kindergarten and teaching me the basic skills I’ve used my whole life.