The BDN Opinion section operates independently and does not set newsroom policies or contribute to reporting or editing articles elsewhere in the newspaper or on bangordailynews.com. “Our children are our future and one of the basic responsibilities is to care for them in the best and most compassionate manner possible,” Nelson Mandela said. In my 30 year career, I have worked as a public school teacher, both in elementary and high schools; an administrator and supervisor of teaching interns; an after-school caregiver; and most importantly, a mother.