One of the things I am constantly struggling with in this job is the notion of “good news” vs. “bad news.”

People often call to complain that there is nothing but “bad news” in the newspaper. Sometimes they have a legitimate point. A lot of what we report as news involves some most unpleasant topics.

But not all of it.

This past Sunday this newspaper, in conjunction with the Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union and the county Intermediate Unit, presented the first winners of the 2008 Excellence in Teaching Awards.

Eighteen educators were honored for their work in the classroom. Among them was Patricia Georges. She teaches sixth, seventh and eighth-graders at Northley Middle School. That would be in the Penn-Delco School District.

You might have noticed that Penn-Delco has found itself in the pages of this newspaper quite often in the last year. Much of what has gone on there has not exactly painted a particularly nice picture of what goes on in the district.

But that’s the point. It’s easy to focus on what is going wrong. We report it because it’s news. But what about the work Georges and countless others do every day? That too often does not get noticed in the newspaper.

We took the opportunity on Sunday to honor Georges and the other unsung educators, whose day-in and day-out activities usually fly under the radar. They don’t make the newspaper. That does not make them any less important.

Twyla Simpkins teaches 11th and 12th-graders. At Chester High School. Yes, the city – and its high school – often find itself splashed across the pages of this newspaper. Very often those stories tend to show the high school in a negative manner.

This is not the first time Simpkins has been featured in the newspaper, however. A month ago we zeroed in on her efforts to create a mobile Black History Museum.

My struggle with “good news” and “bad news” is not going to go away. I know that. It’s something I deal with every day.

Yes, I will admit that many days the “bad news” dominates the headlines. But there are days, Sunday being one of them, when that’s not the case.

I guess you could legitimately ask if I think the story on the teaching awards was the most important story we could feature on our front page on Sunday. The answer is very likely no. But we did it anyhow.

Because every once in awhile, we need to take time to notice those doing good things every day. And put their stories in the newspaper.