Happy Teacher Appreciation Day.
In any other year we would recognize this day with school announcements in the building, and do our best to personally come to your class and wish you a great day.
This year is different. Very different.
What hasn’t been different though is your amazing work. Throughout Learning Beyond the Classroom Walls it has been incredible to see your aptitude as educators as you exemplify all the soft skills we nurture, inspire and develop daily in our students. If we had told you in January that you would be seamlessly teaching your students from home in May, you would have a) thought we were nuts and b) maybe even thought about quitting. And let’s be honest, it has not been totally seamless but we have worked as a team and done a really superb job bring learning to life for the children we teach. You should be very proud of yourself, and your colleagues. I know we are very proud of you.
This is what educators do though. This is a profession where we are ready for the unpredictable, and to be unpredictable. We are ready to make the best of a situation. We are ready to do what needs to be done in the best interests of our students.
As educators we are creators, collaborators and community builders. We are learners, experimenters and remixers. We are listeners and leaders and we have a huge impact on shaping the mind of future generations with our daily work.
This is especially important Teacher Appreciation Day. During these past two months you have been called on to be MacGyver (probably dating myself with this reference) in your aptitude to pull things together, Inspector Gadget in dealing with the various platforms and apps, Superman / Superwoman through your strength and perseverance, Steve Jobs in your ability to think different, Socrates in relaying and inspiring knowledge, an air traffic controller navigating everything around you, and a parent as you ensure the social-emotional health of your students. You have been all of these things, but really, it isn’t that much different than what you’ve done everyday in your career. Now, you just do it through a screen. You’re a teacher and what you do matters each and everyday, to each and every child you talk to.
We are in one of the noblest professions, and in a time of crisis like this you are as important as the doctors, nurses and scientists because you create the normalcy, continuity, connection and joy for children who are living in a world of anxiety and uncertainty. You are their north star. You are their rock. You are their superhero.
These are not easy times and we are even more grateful for all you do. It is an honor to work beside you.
Thank you being a teacher.
These words were sent to our teachers in video form. After making some videos over the past two week I have the utmost respect for teachers who are creating video content daily. This video was easily take #24.
PICTURE THIS... 