In the Philadelphia area, teachers see themselves as first responders in the ongoing emergency of poverty, buying food, prom clothes, toilet paper, eyeglasses, and countless other items for children from families with meager means. “The help that teachers give kids is missing from the public dialogue about teachers these days," said Maia Cucchiara, an urban-education professor at Temple. Teachers are too often criticized as robots teaching only to help students pass standardized tests, she said.