National teacher appreciation week – what a great time to stop and thank a teacher and remind yourself what you’ve done for all your students.
John Steinbeck, the great author once said, “Three real teachers in a lifetime is the very best of luck.” I have a hunch that a lot of you went into education because you had three real teachers who made a difference in your life and I’d also be willing to bet that you’ve impacted students to the same degree and that many of your students will go on to be teachers of others and change our society for the better.
Teachers Sell Hope, hope for a better future. They give students the hope that they can be more than they thought they might be, that they can achieve more than they ever thought they were capable of doing. We’re all a reflection of our teachers. Teachers help us learn to be part of a group, to help others, to be more than we thought we could be.
Teachers see us for who we are without the blind prejudice of our parents. As we mature into responsible adults. Teachers nudge us. Teachers encourage us. Teachers, talk to us and try to convince us of the importance of becoming a good human being and a part of the group.
Teachers are the fabric of our society. They work every day to pull us all into a group as we develop a sense of belonging. Those who belong feel part of our society and later probably contribute when they become adults. Those who are outliers and aren’t brought into the group may go on to be a negative part of our society. So it’s always important that we work hard and you do it every day in trying to pull everybody into the group. Teachers not only teach, but they care. They care about others, they care deeply. It’s been said that students will remember not so much what you taught, but how you taught it, and when those two are put together and you teach the right things and you teach them in the right way, you probably will impact your students for the rest of their life. So today, thank a teacher and then thank yourself. Look in the mirror and see what you’ve done for those other students, those students who will go on to be somebody and let me personally thank you for making the world a better place. Thank you for being teachers.
