Who was the most important teacher for you? What did he or she teach you, and how did he or she do that to make it so memorable? How important do you think teachers are? What problems do teachers face as a profession? What can we do as a society to show them they are appreciated?
I grew up with teachers.
My parents were educators, who worked in American international schools for 28 years and prior to that, on an American Indian reservation in Arizona. Their careers spanned 35 years and if I learned anything from them, it was how much they enjoyed their jobs, how hard they worked and how dedicated they were. They loved children and were good at their jobs.
I spent many weekends in either one of their classrooms “playing teacher” as they worked on their lesson plans in preparation for the week ahead. As I got older, I was recruited to help cut out letters, assemble packets, test markers, organize books, try out a new project or craft or run dittos (remember those?).
It was fun being at school after hours and hanging out with teachers when they weren’t in “teacher mode”. Having them over for dinner or vacationing with them and their families humanized them. They were my parents friends and once I became an adult, they were mine, too.
I’ve always thought teachers were amazing, selfless people. I realize now that I am a parent, how much faith and trust we put in our children’s teachers and I know that our education system is suffering in this country and our teachers aren’t paid enough for what they do. Many of our classrooms are overcrowded and special needs aren’t being met.
Nevertheless, teachers are the people who educate us and give us the vital knowledge which we need to live our lives. They encourage, support, discipline and prepare us for the road ahead and they deserve a time for us to show them our appreciation.
Teacher Appreciation Week (May 7-11) is this week and there is still time to take advantage of this perfect opportunity to show the teachers in your life how thankful you are for their support.
Say thank you to the people who work really hard so that we can have a better future.
My son took $5.00 Starbucks gift cards (as shown below) especially designed for Teacher Appreciation Week to preschool yesterday for each of his teachers.
Click on image for more information.
While gift certificates are always nice (and useful), a letter expressing your gratitude (with a copy going to the principal) is something that is greatly appreciated. Anything that shows that you’ve taken time to get to know the teacher personally or a gift that caters to his or her interests is special, too. Or if the teacher has a specific hobby, favorite restaurant, special collection, a gift leaning toward that would be perfect, too.
If you need even more gift ideas, turn to Pinterest, where you’ll find awesome printables and other cute creative crafts to help you say thank you for all that teachers do for our children. They make all of our lives richer because of it.
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