It鈥檚 that time of year again for social media posts, emails, and gifts thanking teachers for their hard work鈥攁nd legions of teachers who still report feeling unappreciated. For years, writers have taken to 91直播鈥檚 opinion pages to mark the week with both heartfelt thanks and searching reflections on how to make that appreciation last far longer than five days.
In 2021, teachers of the year from seven states came together to write 鈥�It鈥檚 Teacher Appreciation Week. Flowers? Mugs? We鈥檙e Looking for Something More,鈥� expressing their hopes for appreciative gestures that won鈥檛 wilt by the end of the week.
Their No. 1 ask? 鈥淚nclude teachers in education decisions.鈥�
Another former state teacher of the year came to a similar conclusion several years earlier, when 2014 Texas Teacher of the Year Monica Washington argued that messages of appreciation ring hollow when they aren鈥檛 accompanied by a seat at the decisionmaking table: 鈥淲e are often told that we are 鈥榲alued professionals鈥� who 鈥榗hange the lives of our students every day.鈥� But we are also micromanaged to immobility, not trusted to make the simplest decisions that affect students鈥� learning and well-being.鈥�
Sharif El-Mekki has taken on a principal eye view of this conundrum in several recent essays. 鈥淲hat if we made Teacher Appreciation Week last all year?鈥� he asked school leaders last spring, before laying out five actionable recommendations.
Several months later, the former principal kept the theme of teacher appreciation alive into the fall by offering 鈥�The 4 Gifts Principals Should Give Teachers This Year (Hint: Not Another School Mug).鈥�
That鈥檚 not the only call to action opinion writers had for principals. Explaining her own approach in 鈥�Why One Principal Is Asking Her Staff to Do Less,鈥� Indiana Principal Crystal Thorpe dialed in on the ABCs of school鈥攁cademics, behavior, and culture鈥攖o slow down the runaway snowball of demands on teachers.
For some quick-hit ideas of how school leaders can back up those 鈥渢hank you鈥� emails with action, look no further than teacher and blogger Larry Ferlazzo鈥檚 three roundups of educators sharing the one thing principals can do to support their teachers:
- 7 Ways Principals Can Support Teachers
- Principals: Supporting Your Teachers Doesn鈥檛 Have to Be Such Hard Work
- Advice for Principals: Empower Your Teachers
Part of appreciating teachers starts with respecting their profession as more than just a steppingstone to administration or some other career changes. That鈥檚 the message of 鈥�Why I鈥檓 Happy Being 鈥楯ust a Teacher,鈥�鈥� in which Amanda Myers works through her response to a recent dinner party guest who pushed for answers on her 鈥渘ext step鈥� after teaching. The widespread assumption that every teacher is an administrator-in-waiting undermines the valuable types of leadership that teachers bring to the job they already have, she writes.
Gratitude doesn鈥檛 just come from outside the profession: Teachers are ready to appreciate each other as well. Just look at what these teachers and student-teachers had to say about the educators who inspired them:
Those words of affirmation are just in line with instructional coach Lisa Westman鈥檚 prescriptions in the 2017 opinion essay 鈥�Teachers, Do We Appreciate One Another?鈥� To help her fellow educators join the mutual-appreciation party, Westman translates the popular love languages鈥攇ift giving, words of affirmation, quality time, acts of service, and physical connection鈥攊nto work-appropriate gestures to make colleagues feel valued.
鈥淭eachers most frequently say they feel unappreciated by society and administration,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淎nd it is easy to look outward at factors we cannot control, we can鈥檛 make society appreciate us. But, when we look inward, we must ask, what part do we, teachers, play in creating a culture of appreciation?鈥�
A decade into retirement, former English teacher Laurie Barnoski was still feeling the appreciation when she sat down to write a love letter to teaching back in 2018. After reconnecting with four former students鈥攖wo of whom had gone on to become English teachers themselves鈥攕he was reminded of the long-tail influence of her job.
鈥淏y taking time to say thank you,鈥� she wrote, 鈥渕y students were telling me that my 32 years in the classroom meant something; my goal to have a positive impact on my students was complete. They gave me the greatest gift human beings can give one another: They told me that I mattered.鈥�
