AREA TEACHERS CONVERGE ON CITY FOR MEETING

After a high-jumper clears the bar, the best thing his coach or trainer can do is raise the bar, says motivational speaker Bill Sanders.

Teachers, likewise, should strive to be "bar-tenders," always raising the expectations of their students, he said.

Sanders spoke to more than 3,000 Southeast Missouri area teachers Friday at the 120th annual Southeast Missouri District Teachers Meeting at the Show Me Center.

The meeting offers teachers a chance to regroup and recharge as they head into the final stretch of the school year. Jo Peukert, a Cape Girardeau social-studies teacher, has served as district president for the past year.

The teachers, all members of the Missouri State Teachers Association, also honored educators for service to the organization and to education in Southeast Missouri.

Honored for meritorious service were Barbara A. Miller, a teacher and counselor in Charleston schools; S. Edward Seabaugh, a science teacher in Jackson schools; and a husband-and-wife teaching team, Joann and Murray Sullivan, teachers in Sikeston schools.

Honored as Outstanding Community Teachers Association Leaders of the Year were Karen Sue Kight, who teaches in Jackson schools, and Margaret E. Bilderback, who teaches in Potosi schools. Honored for service to the Southeast District were Doris Ford, a teacher in Cape Girardeau schools, and Elizabeth Clevenger, a teacher in Charleston schools.

Sanders, the speaker, told teachers, "You are teachers of America's only future."

With that heavy responsibility in mind, he said, it is important for educators to take time to take care of themselves.

"You are not just teachers; you are life-touchers," he said.

Ninty-three percent of all men and women in prison were told as a child that some day they were headed to jail, he said. "Kids need your help," he said. "Some teachers have trouble-makers; you see kids having trouble making it."

Sanders said it is no wonder children have trouble making it with the messages being sent them in society.

"Twenty years ago we told kids it was illegal to drink. Now we tell them, `Don't drink and drive.' Twenty years ago you taught kids to wait until they were married to have sex. Now we tell them they are being responsible if they have `safe sex' and hand out condoms."

Instead, he suggested that teachers and other "life-touchers" would serve children better by "raising the bar" and expectations of them.

He also suggested that adults take the first step by setting a good example.

He said: "Until kids see us stand up for what's right and risk offending some, they are going to be scared to do what's right for the rest of their lives. Actions speak so much louder than words."