“One of the ways to combat the effects of living in poverty is to provide children with a really stable force,” teacher Rafe Esquith told Valerie Strauss. “I dress the same way. I have the same mood every day. I want to be the safe haven where the child knows he can go every day.”
Esquith has taught at the same Los Angeles elementary school for 28 years, notes PDQ Blog. “In a day and age where the most common level of experience for a teacher is one year, this is unfortunately remarkable.”
Dale Irby, who recently retired after 40 years as a gym teacher in a district near Dallas, shares Esquith’s philosophy. In 40 years of school pictures, Irby wore the same sweater vest.