Originally published in TEACH Magazine, March/April 2021 Issue
By Kristina Kramer
After 30 years of teaching and 14 years of being a parent, it wasn’t the books, the courses, or the counseling that would so clearly encapsulate the purpose of my job as an educator and a mom. It would be a 30-second video clip of a 10-year-old boy on a bike that would pierce my heart and show me what is really important in this world.
It was May of 2020, and I was scrolling through my emails after a long day of Zoom and Google Classroom. My eyes were getting bleary, so I took off my Telluride ballcap (brought out especially for our “wear a hat to Zoom class” day) and popped on my blue light glasses before checking one last email, from the parent of a student that I was a bit worried about.
Kristina Kramer has been teaching grades 1–8 for 31 years. She has a Master’s degree in literacy and is also an adjunct professor at Wheeling University in Wheeling, WV. She leads professional development workshops in the areas of reading and writing. In her free time, she explores the great outdoors through biking, hiking, traveling, and gardening. She currently lives in Wheeling with her husband and son.
