Teacher Appreciation Day

It should be more than once a year, but let’s get it right today.

Teaching is a terribly difficult job. Teaching is also a terribly rewarding job, but intrinsically so. Teachers do not receive accolades or gifts or bonuses or even respect as professionals (typically). Teachers also rarely get the one thing that is so well deserved; thanks.

Today is Teacher Appreciation Day and I am strongly recommending you find a way to thank a teacher. Hear me out, for at least 180 days out of the year, a teacher tries to help your child be better than the day before. Better intellectually, emotionally, creatively; better, that is their job. One day a year is carved out to show your appreciation for that, and even though you may not always agree with them, you can’t argue that teachers do their best to succeed in their mission.

Teachers are experts at hearing complaints. Complaints from students about anything and everything from the work being too hard, too boring, too easy; complaints from parents about anything and everything from their child’s performance, other children’s performance, their qualifications, their decisions; complaints from administrators about anything and everything from deadlines, to test scores, to grades. What teachers are not accustomed to hearing is “thank you.” Teachers appreciate small tokens of appreciation, gifts, etc. (who doesn’t), but a simple thank you for what you do goes a long way and is not common.

Look, I am not saying that every teacher is perfect (there are exceptions to everything), but what I am saying is that they chose the profession that makes all things possible. Without teachers, there would be nothing. So today, say thank you to a teacher for what they do, you have no idea how much it will mean to them.