Teachers who wow you (plus a $50,000 grant opportunity for your school)

A couple of weeks ago, the ladies over at The Motherhood asked if I wanted to be a part of a sponsored Clorox project. All I had to do? Write about an outstanding teacher. I was a little stumped. Because the thing about the teachers Max has had is this: Every single one of them is outstanding.

These teachers have extreme patience. Mind-boggling amounts of patience—for showing kids how to do things repeatedly, and then showing them again the next day and the next week and the next month.

These teachers have extreme flexibility, because what works for one child isn't going to work for another. Obviously, this is true of any teacher in any school but when you're at a school for kids with disabilities, there can be a very wide range of abilities within one classroom.

These teachers have extreme willingness to guide parents. Over the years, I've asked teachers' advice on everything from what kind of websites would be helpful to boosting Max's cognition to whether to be concerned about his obsessions. They've been generous with their time, their e-mails, and their reassurances that it's OK for Max to be overly enthusiastic about purple, car washes, spaghetti, whatever.

These teachers have extreme dedication. Their duties go far beyond simply educating a child. In Max's school, teachers help kids with toileting. They help feed them (in Max's recent progress report, one of the "instructional objectives" is "Max will chew a variety of food textures"). And they help with basic life skills. One year, a teacher at Max's school e-mailed me over a weekend to tell me, excitedly, that she'd found a cute animal zipper pull that would encourage Max to close his jacket all by himself.

While I haven't always agreed with their philosophies on every single thing, in general, I stand in awe of the teachers who've worked with my boy. They have played a tremendous role in Max's progress. They are among the extra-good people of this world, for having chosen a more challenging path in order to help kids with special needs live their best lives.

Do you have a teacher (or a bunch!) you'd like to give props to? Share your thoughts below and I'll randomly pick one winner to get a Clorox pack that contains:
• Clorox Disinfecting Wipes
• Dr. Harley Rotbart’s book Germ Proof Your Kids
• Clorox Hand Sanitizer
• Tissues
• Fun stickers
• Crazy cutting scissors
• Markets/pencils/crayons

For extra giveaway entries...
• Follow Clorox on Twitter.
• Tweet about this giveaway using the tag #cloroxbrightfuture and leave your tweet link.

This giveaway is open until Tuesday, September 7 at 11:59 p.m., and is for U.S. residents only. I'll randomly choose a winner and announce it here.

FYI, Clorox has a really great thing going on for schools, the Power A Bright Future grant program. Between now and September 27, you can nominate a new or existing school program for a chance to win a $50,000 grand-prize grant or one of three $20,000 grants. The public will vote on the winners, who will be announced in November. Nominators will get Clorox classroom tools and the chance to win coupons for Clorox faves.