How To Honor Your Favorite Teacher For Teacher Appreciation Week
From Forbes.com
The first week in May is Teacher Appreciation Week, an idea first proposed by Eleanor Roosevelt. It spawns an assortment of special discounts even as teachers’ desks become loaded with various gifts from students.
In 39 years of teaching, I received uncounted candies, scented candles, and gift certificates. And despite the teachers lounge joking about collections of tchotchkes, almost no heartfelt teacher appreciation gift is “wrong.”
On social media, the week features a greatest hits list of videos from previous years featuring famous people reuniting their own favorite teacher. Jimmy Kimmel gives Quinta Brunson a video meeting with Mrs. Abbott. Oprah reunites with her fourth grade teacher. Adele’s English teacher surprises the singer at a concert. Hugh Jackman surprises his old acting teacher.
Here’s what you might not notice. Those teachers are bring brought in front a huge audience, but their focus remains trained on that former student. The gift that the famous person has given the teacher is not big recognition on a wide platform, but a chance to know that they made a positive difference in a student’s life. The fame is not what matters; it’s knowing that former student’s life story is unfolding in positive ways.
Teaching is like firing arrows into a dark night; you are not always sure what targets you hit. Moments in your classroom can be critical moments in a child’s life, but there’s no way to know for certain ahead of time which moments those will be. On top of that, as dozens or hundreds of students pass through your room, you are seeing the first chapter in a story to which you may never know the end. Often, once a student has passed out of your classroom, you never find out how their story unfolds.
Yes, I nominate my teachers Mrs. Massich and Ms. Wood! They are my best teachers I’ve had that made an impact on me to succeed in a lifetime.