A teacher who is earning his paycheck, and the respect of his students.

Every night when I talk with my kids on the phone, I ask them to tell me one thing they learned that day. My son Jon is in the seventh grade. Yesterday was not a school day, but Jon decided to tell me what he is learning in his favorite class, which is German. He told me that his teacher's name is Mr. Disstlehorst. "His wife can't have babies, for some reason, so we're his kids."

"Germany tried democracy, but their leaders failed them. Hitler came along and promised that he could provide the German people with what they needed and wanted. You know how when you think of Germany, you think of Nazis? Well, actually, Dad, the Germans were the first people Hitler attacked! Each woman was forced to have at least three children by the age of forty, or she would be killed. Then, he started concentration camps, and put the Jewish citizens in them."

"I have learned about three political systems: capitalism, communism, and fascism. Capitalism is America. There are two sides, left and right. The left is where the people are babied, but actually are ruled by the government. The right is where the people want to be more independent. Fascism is where the military rules the people. Communism is where the czars assigned jobs, and everybody was paid the same, so there was no incentive for people to work harder or study harder."

Jon loves his German class and his teacher. It is the only class he ever mentions. Count me as one father who appreciates a good teacher!

The photo image above is outside the building in Braunau am Inn, Austria, where Hitler was born. It is a memorial stone placed as a reminder of the horrors of World War II. The inscription translates as:

For peace, freedom
and democracy
never again fascism
millions of dead remind [us]"
(from Wikipedia)