“Teacher Appreciation Week” – like so much of our calendar – is a reminder of something that ought not be restricted to a week or a day. Teacher Appreciation Week during a third consecutive COVID school year? That should be a reminder that we owe our teachers and those who care for our children much more than “appreciation”…
I have been in the field of Jewish day school since 2005 and the field of Jewish education since 1997. Stress, fatigue, under-appreciation, burnout – these factors have (sadly) always been present (as they have been in almost all forms of education, service work and nonprofits). The days of the 30-year teacher and/or administrator have been ending in slow motion for years and decades, but the exodus we are experiencing since COVID is unprecedented and potentially cataclysmic.
As Danna Thomas put it earlier this year:
We are accustomed to feelings of uncertainty while simultaneously putting on a brave face as we continue to show up day in and day out. Long before the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers were tasked with supporting students in the midst of the most seemingly insurmountable obstacles. And, long before the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an educator burnout pandemic.
We know that stress and burnout are not new phenomena to educators, but unfortunately they’re getting worse. When teacher burnout increases, teaching quality decreases, which results in less effective classroom management and reduced student engagement. When teacher stress increases, it contributes to student stress, which has been linked to learning and mental health problems.
We have been both lucky and blessed at OJCS, pre-pandemic and during COVID, with a significant number of veteran teachers and administrators who continue to make OJCS their address for their love of children and their passion for teaching, year after year. But that doesn’t mean that the last few years have not taken their toll. They have. And it certainly doesn’t mean that we should take their commitment and dedication for granted. We shouldn’t. What it means – to me – is that the small things that truly demonstrate “appreciation” matter now, more than ever.
With Teacher Appreciation Week launching next week, during which our Admin, PTA and Board eagerly look forward to celebrating and spoiling our teachers, you can make a huge difference to the overall wellbeing of our school by simply picking an item from below (aggregated from lots of blog posts) and making a teacher’s day:
- A personalized note or email
- A homemade craft
- Caffeine
- A hot meal
- Gift cards
- Plants
- A personalized thank-you sign
- Small treasures
- Something special that reminds a teacher of his/her student(s)
- Alcohol (but check first!)
- Show up for school!
- Spa treatment
- Experiential gifts (like a remote yoga or dance class)
- Donations to a dream project
- Year-Round Advocacy
My personal suggestion? Absolutely send gift cards and post creatively on social media. Buy ads in yearbooks, post lawns signs and lead parades. Do any and all of the above list. Express your appreciation for all the things your child(ren)’s teacher(s) have done to make in-person, hyflex and distance learning as successful as it has been. Please.
But if you want to go the extra mile this year? Let’s also try assuming the best of our teachers – even when they have difficult truths to share. Give them the benefit of the doubt – even when they don’t communicate as well as they could. Treat them as partners – even when they make mistakes. Let’s not simply tell our teachers that we appreciate them; let’s actually appreciate them.
Please be on the lookout for this year’s Annual Parent Survey, which will be emailed to you no later than Monday and due back no later than May 13th!
