JUST FOR TEACHERS

#23: THANK YOU!

On behalf of every parent, every child, every community member who forgets to say it, THANK YOU, TEACHERS! Thank you for showing up every day to do a tough job. Thank you for your perseverance in the face of shrinking budgets and expanding work loads. For every unpaid extra hour you spend working because you care about the children, thank you. For every moment you’ve spent worrying about those in your charge, thank you. Though you don’t hear it often enough, you are appreciated. Thank you for all you do!

#22: SMALL KINDNESSES

The child comes into the classroom. You smile and greet her by name. She smiles back. You don’t realize how much that small kindness means to her.

She’s had a horrible morning, trying to find what she needs for school in a chaotic home environment. She had no breakfast. She couldn’t sleep last night, for all the noise in the house. When she left for school, nobody saw her out the door. Nobody wished her well. Nobody hugged her or gave her a goodbye kiss.

Nobody noticed her at all, until you did. You smiled. That small kindness made a huge difference for her.

Thank you, Teacher, for your small kindnesses, making the difference for so many every day.

#21: GIFTS

One of my favorite movie moments is in A Christmas Story, when Ralphie brings in the HUGE fruit basket as a bribe for his teacher.

It puts me in mind of my teaching days, back when children gave their teachers Evening in Paris cologne from the drugstore. Or maybe a gift of Avon perfume. (Teachers smelled really good back then.)

In these days of sensitivity, you probably won’t be getting any Evening in Paris, much less a giant basket of fruit.  But you and I both know, it’s not about the gifts we get at holiday time but the gifts we offer our students all year long. Knowledge, self-respect, challenge, success…all gifts to last a lifetime.

Thank you, Teacher, for the gifts you give every day. And may you have a joy-filled holiday season!

#20: CONNECTING

I stood nearby as four-year-old grandson Joey waited in line outside his preschool classroom. When it was time for the school morning to begin, his teacher came out and crouched down so she could be face to face with him. I heard her say, “Joey, I just put two new things on the science table. I knew you’d be interested in them.” She smiled. Joey smiled. I smiled.

That special moment of connection spoke volumes about this teacher. She knew this child and his interests. She cared about him and it showed. They connected.

Teacher, you do it every day. You know your students and you think about them, even when they’re not in your classroom. You notice who they are, what they like and you make the effort to connect. You pay attention. You care. And it shows.

You are making a difference in your students’ lives, day by day, one special moment of connection after another.  Thank you, Teacher, for making those connections, and for all you do!

#19: “The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery.” (Mark Van Doren)

One student is easily distracted. The boy at the next desk has amazing powers of concentration. Another girl always seems to be in another world, while her classmate is completely engaged in class. What a challenge for teachers, to connect with all –the distracted daydreamer and the fully focused–and to assist each in the process of discovering their own potential and finding their own path.

Accept, understand, value each individual. Each has something to learn from you. Each has something to teach you. What will you teach today? What will you learn? You are together on this discovery journey. How exciting!

Thank you, Teacher, for all you do.

#18 “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” (Henry Brooks Adams)

My mother, in her advanced years, remembers little of today or yesterday but she remembers her teachers and her days in school. She remembers the poems she memorized. Her math facts are in tact. Her spelling is perfect. Those early lessons took. Her teachers taught her well and inspired her love of learning. She passed that love to her children, who are passing it to theirs.

Think about that. What you teach today becomes part of the adult your student will be, to be passed on to those who follow. And on and on and on.

You will be remembered, Teacher. Your influence will ripple forward through this generation and the next and the next.  What you are doing today will make a difference. Thank you for all you do!

#17: “No person was ever honored for what he received. Honor has been the reward for what he gave.” Calvin Coolidge

There’s a “giving gene” and I’m convinced all of us who yearn to teach must have it. Why else would we spend weekends preparing lessons? (And when our non-teacher friends ask us why we’re not out having fun, we explain that this IS fun for us.) And who but a gifted giver spends her hard-earned cash on supplies for her students, or offers to coach, mentor, tutor for free, on his own time, when bond measures fail and budgets are cut?

Teachers give, day after day, to promote a better future for the child–the family, the community–who may never appreciate the impact of those teachers.

Where is the glory for teachers? The salary? (Some say it should be raised to combat pay.) And oh yes, there is that “summer vacation” those non-teachers envy. But glory? Honor? Not on recess duty. Not on lunchroom patrol.

For the gifted giving teacher, the job must be its own reward. There is honor for those who accept the call to self-sacrifice. There is honor in showing up every day to care, to teach, to touch, to inspire.

So take pride, Teacher. Yours is a high calling, a noble profession. Honor is your reward for all that you give.

And on behalf of all who forget to say it, “Thank you, Teacher, for all you do!”

#16: Goal? To Be Unnecessary

“A teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary.” (Thomas Carruthers)

Teaching is like parenting. The whole point is to instruct, correct, inspire, motivate, train, shape and mold another human being to the point where they don’t need you anymore. You are there for a season–a semester, a term, a year–to impart what you know. To offer your experience in the world and model a love of learning.

Like parenting, it’s not just about conveying knowledge. It’s about equipping the learner to go forward and gather what he or she needs to live life.

The responsibility is daunting, and at times exhausting. But what reward there is–for parents, for teachers, to spend your life–pouring yourself out–to prepare somebody for life! What satisfaction, when you’ve given your all, to send them forth into the world, knowing that they don’t need you but are ready to embrace the next challenge, because you have prepared them for exactly that.

Thank you, Teacher, for being willing to make yourself  “progressively unnecessary” today!

#15 R-E-S-P-E-C-T

“Teaching is not a lost art, but the regard for it is a lost tradition.” (Jacques Barzun)

What a shame. Actors receive gazillions of dollars to provide an hour or two of entertainment here and there. The result? A laugh, a diversion, perhaps a few tears. The value? Maybe worth the price of the movie ticket. Maybe not.

Teachers receive…well, less than gazillions, to offer education. The result? Changed lives. Love for learning. Brilliant minds developed. A better future for us all. The value of that? Priceless.

It’s a shame how we heap adulation on the famous and show so little honor and respect to those who serve us every day.

Thank you, Teacher, for showing up day after day to teach. Thank you for your daily efforts to change life for your students and to make a better future for us all. Thank you!

#14: The Quiz

The quiz seemed simple. “Can you name five Heisman trophy winners? Five movies that won Oscars last year?  Five Nobel prize winners, or the last five Miss Americas?” Nope.

How about five teachers you remember? Ah, yes. Miss Means taught me to read. Miss Sletto taught me cursive. Miss Norman read the Little House books and reading came alive to me.  Miss Bergquist taught me about poetry, and rocks. Mr. Blesi loved science and Mr. Fox challenged me to think. And that was just elementary school!

What a powerful impact you will have in the lives of your students. You’ll live on in the gifts you offer–knowledge, encouragement, attention, compassion–to all who enter your classroom. You’ll live on in the enthusiasm for learning that you impart.

Long after the names of the “rich and famous” are forgotten, you will be remembered. You will be remembered for your teaching. For your caring. For being there.   Thank you, Teacher, for all you do.

#13: “Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater.” (Gail Godwin)

In Grandma’s day, the chalkboard was high-tech. For her children, it was a big deal to have the TV rolled into the classroom to watch PBS science and social studies programming. (Exciting? Hardly. They all droned on like Ferris Bueller’s teacher, “Anyone? Anyone?”) In today’s multimedia world, it’s tougher than ever to compete for and capture students’ attention and hold their interest long enough to teach them something.

Whether you teach toddlers or teens, science or English, you know there is truth in Godwin’s quote above. But that’s your task. You prepare to make it informative and interesting. Prepare to make it factual and fun.

How great to be teaching when so much tech is available. It’s not just about entertainment; it’s about making learning memorable. That’s education.

Every day the curtain rises again. Another performance, another chance to make a difference. So take a deep breath. Quiet those pre-performance jitters. Lights, camera–or rather the bell rings–and action! You’re ON!

Every day is Show Time, and kudos to you for showing up to do it all again and again. Thank you, Teacher, for all you do!

#12: “The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called ‘truth’.”  (Dan Rather)

No wonder teaching is exhausting! All that energy expended, day after day, tugging, pushing, leading and encouraging students who are at times reluctant, distracted, unsure, and sometimes downright rebellious.

And yet you, Teacher, continue to believe in your students and in their right to learn. You continue to speak the truth as you teach. You continue to guide them on the incredible journey you are privileged to take together to the next, and the next, and the next levels of achievement.

Teacher, may you have endurance for the long haul. And may you find great joy and reward in today’s encounters.

#11: I just finished a six week beginning pottery class. There were some art teachers in the class but there were science, music and history teachers there as well.

We shared a common purpose: taking risks. We were willing to risk being “bad” at something, whether we “knew” pottery or were truly beginners, in order to learn something new.

Teacher, demonstrating your willingness to take risks, to be “bad” at something before you become better, encourages your students to do the same.

Try something new this week. Like a potter, you are shaping the future. And thanks for all you do!

#10: “A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.” (Horace Mann)

We inspire a love for learning by modeling it. Teachers are life-long learners. What are you doing this summer to add to the depth and breadth of your knowledge? Beyond accumulating some required credits, above what’s needed to get the next raise, how are you expanding YOUR horizons?

Check out something outside your field of expertise. If you teach business, try an art class, take some dance lessons or learn to sculpt. If you teach art, learn some history or try French.

Get out of your comfort zone. Stretch yourself. Take some risks. You’ll be the better teacher for it and your students will benefit from your example.  Meanwhile enjoy yourself,Teacher–you deserve a little fun!

#9: “Teaching is leaving a vestige of one self in the development of another.  And surely the student is a bank where you can deposit your most precious treasures. ” (Eugene P.Bertin)

It’s the end of the year. You’ve spent the last nine months focused on your students and their needs. You’ve invested your time, your energy and your heart. You’ve given your all. You’ve got nothing left to give. (Are you feeling it?)

What will you do to rebuild your reserves this summer? What will you do just for fun? How will you take care of yourself so that the fall finds you refilled and ready to teach again?

Set yourself some summer objectives–for your own learning, your own refilling and your own fun. Then sing along with that sweet Alice Cooper refrain, “School’s out for summer…!”

#8: “I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework.”  ~Lily Tomlin as “Edith Ann”

Lily Tomlin’s Edith Ann character–the little girl in the huge chair–is a television classic. And Edith Ann had a knack for straight talk. Good teachers do more than just teach the subject at hand. Good teachers inspire love of learning and open doors to endless possibilities.

What are you giving your students to think about, besides homework? How can you inspire them today?

But Edith Ann, for all her wisdom, had a delightful child’s take on life as well, as in “One Halloween, my sister ate so much candy corn she got a baby.”

Now that’s something to think about…

#7: This is Teacher Appreciation Week and  there will no doubt be “Thank You!” notes and “We Appreciate You!” treats for you. What a wonderful thing to have others express their gratitude that you have chosen to do what you do. Teacher, you deserve that thanks!

Perhaps, as others show how much they appreciate you, you can take a little time for “self appreciation.” Give yourself a break–an hour or two, half a day, maybe the whole weekend–just for you. Treat yourself to something special–a day of rest, dinner out, an afternoon in the country…whatever it is that restores your spirits.

You give and give and give some more to others all week long. This week, give a little something special to yourself. Teacher, you deserve that too! And thank you for all you do!

#6: “One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings.  The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child.” (Carl Jung)

How grateful I am for the teachers who touched my life. One teacher saw a writer in me. Another saw in me a teacher. Another saw where I came from and my need for order and structure. Another saw a love of music and languages.

What do you see in your student? Writer or business leader? Teacher or musician? Sports star or doctor? Looking beyond the surface, the best teacher sees potential. Dreams. Hopes. The future.

Thank you today for being that insightful, inspiring teacher who cares enough to look deeper and encourage that student in need–that student who will one day look back with appreciation and gratitude for the time you had together.

#5: “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.” (Antoine de Saint-Exupéry)

So much of the teacher’s time is spent gathering the wood, dividing the work and giving the orders, isn’t it?

But Teacher, you are a visionary, seeing the future for your students. And as you share that vision, you inspire them to yearn for the dream, and for the skills needed to make it come true. If you can give them that vision and that yearning, you’ve given them the world.

Future artists, explorers, inventors, scientists, teachers…who knows who you’ll be inspiring today? Teach them to yearn for the dream and the skills you teach will be all the more meaningful. Inspiring students to dream their dreams–to yearn for that vast and endless sea–isn’t that the real job of teaching? Yes, and thank you for inspiring your students today.

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#4. From an unknown source comes this springtime quote: “Teachers who inspire know that teaching is like cultivating a garden, and those who would have nothing to do with thorns must never attempt to gather flowers.”

Ah, yes…those pesky thorns in life. Who or what are yours? An unruly student? An annoying requirement that has nothing to do with quality teaching? Someone or something else that keeps you from being all the teacher you can be? Thorns exist. We all have them. Where is your focus today? Instead of looking at the thorns, focus on the growth in the rest of the garden. You’re planting seeds, nourishing new growth–what a privilege you have to inspire! And yes, there may be thorns here and there, but flowers will come.

Lamenting the presence of thorns robs us of the beauty of the roses. May you see the spectacular beauty that’s in your life today. And thank you, teachers, for all you do.

#3. This quote from Donald D. Quinn says it all: “If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn’t want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher’s job. ”

I have nothing to add except this: Teacher, if you don’t hear it from anyone else today, let me say it. THANK YOU for what you do. Thank you for showing up day after day to teach, to inspire, to correct, to challenge. Thank you for making the future better for all of us out here who take you for granted, who don’t have a clue what your life is really like.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

#2. “In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day’s work.  It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.” (Jacques Barzun)

You work and work, teaching day after day. And sure, you see “progress.” A math skill mastered. A science unit completed. A reading level achieved. But the real fruit of your labor–the harvest you are committed to bringing–remains, as Barzun says, invisible.

The real harvest comes later: Integrity of character developed by trying and failing and being encouraged to try again. Love of learning inspired by the enthusiasm of one teacher or a dozen. Compassion, tolerance, respect–developed over time as they are received from one teacher, and another, and another. That’s the real harvest of your work–the work of a lifetime.

And so, on you work. For today you are, for one student, a planter of seed. For another, you are nurturing growth. And for yet another, you’re yanking weeds. Each task is of value; each contributes to the harvest. Eventually.

Teacher, know this: one day, what you do today will have mattered. A life will be different because of you. And on behalf of all of us who benefit from the harvest of your good work, thank you!

#1. I just came across this quote: “A good teacher is like a candle – it consumes itself to light the way for others.” The author was unknown but any of you could have said it. And you know it’s true. More than any other profession I can think of, teachers are willing to give and give and give, and in the process burn themselves out. Please don’t. For your own sake. For your family’s sake. For your students. Take time this week–today–to breathe. Do something nice, just for you. A little break, a special treat. Give yourself just a little of the TLC you pour out day after day. You deserve it. Thanks for all you do!