Remember how hard your teachers work to educate your kids!
Dear Teacher,
It’s that time of the year again, isn’t it? That stale, suffocating season where kids are restless and nature seems relentless. You are near launching the full attack of curriculum to complete, standardized tests to administer, conferences to schedule, end of the year events to plan, paperwork to push through, and students to engage in the relentless day-to-day challenge of capturing their attention within the confines of your overcrowded classroom.
The pressure is on.
I know how much you love your job, and the reward is quite fulfilling as you witness the climax to the year’s success stories emerge. But I also know that around this time of year you grow tired. Long days are ahead of you, surrounded by squirming kids buzzing with a high-pitched fever, seeking to break free from the captive halls of compliance toward the outstretched arms of fresh air and budding spring.
But you have a job to do. And it’s this time of year when pressure is high to take your students through to the end, with the desperate hope of passing them into the next grade. You have stacks of IEPs in which you have worked tirelessly to advocate, implement and evaluate, while assisting many other kids with ESL, working through language limitations in learning. Then there are the children who fly under the radar of such labels, only to present similar issues and difficulties you must assess and continue to individualize with your own makeshift learning course. Perhaps other students display a constant struggle to stay focused on the task at hand, leaving you weary and wrung out as their behavior disrupts the class and distracts their peers. You may have so many students behind that you possibly feel despair over how to bring them through the doors of success. You have tried and tried, and yet there are some who may not make it through.
I can only imagine how hard it is for you.
You may not see that the end is near over the mountains of work left to do…
But it is.
And I want to tell you that I am aware of what you do, and I am grateful for it all. What you manage on a day-to-day basis is no easy feat. Your role in my children’s lives has been profoundly important to their growth and education. You have fueled their desire to learn and inspired them to do their best. My children are better people for knowing you.
Because of what you work tirelessly to do, there are children thriving and learning and developing their minds and perspectives about this world we live in. You are forming concepts and consciousness, while nurturing intelligence and awareness in our youth. Your influence is monumental. Your place in my children’s lives is powerful. You are raising up generations that will inevitably contribute to our society’s future.
And as you trek through this tough terrain, please know that you are appreciated by parents who entrust you with their children. And I personally will do my best to send my kids to you prepared to ride this wave ’til summer.
That is a high calling, and one of the greatest, most honorable jobs in the world.
Thank you, teacher. Thank you for all you do.
With deep respect, I offer you all my support.
A parent.
*This post was originally published over at Scary Mommy.
—-Sweet, Chris,
Please send this letter to your school district.
They will be very pleased and honored to receive it.
Seriously.
I would hope the Principal would read it aloud to the entire staff !!
Xxx
Thank you so very much. THE TIMING IS DEAD ON .
Blessings today and always
I’m SO glad you read it, and that the timing was perfect Tracy! Teachers deserve this tribute and surely have earned this appreciation and praise! 🙂
Last year when I wrote it, I wanted SO BADLY to have the principal do just that!! I did email the link to the SM post and I heard she forwarded it on to all the teachers at Cade’s school. I thought about finding a way to share it with our City School district, but wimped out. (I’m not good at pushing my stuff… even for a good cause!)
I still love this letter so much and just so glad you reshared it here today 😉
Thanks Janine!! I realized it is nearing *that time of year* and felt compelled to share it again… 🙂
Wonderful tribute to teachers!
Thank you, Lynn! 🙂
Love it!!! As moms, we get caught up in the hustle and bustle and forget that we are not the only ones raising these kids!
No, we are surely not! It always amazes me how much my kids share about their teachers. Even the little details that my kids pick up about different teachers. They really do have a BIG influence on our kids.
I am forwarding to my kids’ teachers now. Most of them. Ugh, I am horrible.
I get it. I really do. I know not ALL teachers are deserving of this praise and appreciation. There are a *few* who perhaps chose the wrong profession. Sometimes, it’s really just ‘agree to disagree’ on teaching style or even communication issues. I’m just glad that MOST teachers are amazing. 🙂
Hi Chris! My daughter is a special ed teacher, and let me tell you, this would speak deeply to her. She knows how hard these kids have it, and often don’t have the home support they need. Doesn’t make the experience any easier, it’s still hard days, dealing with personalities and needs and outbursts. I don’t know how she does it, but I’m sure glad she does.
This is really a beautiful ode to teachers everywhere. Thank goodness for Spring Break!
Blessings,
Ceil
I can only imagine how hard she works, Ceil. I hope you pass this along to her… I would love to be a part of spreading this praise and encouragement onward to her school!
I loved this Christine – very uplifting even from a parent’s perspective.
Thanks, Kenya!! I really mean it. Teachers are amazing. They deserve all the praise and appreciation I can give. WE can give. 🙂
Oh yes. Make this go viral. I’m from a family of teachers. They are true gifts. I could never do it. For even a day. But the way they make a difference with EVERY kid. Wow.
HAHAHAHA!! “Make this go viral.” Oh girl, if only I knew how. Right? But I LOVE your spirit and your support of this message to our teachers! They SO deserve this appreciation, praise and validation. They are AMAZING.
I’m so happy to see this letter again, Chris! It made me smile big last year and again today. What important words that you should republish yearly as a beautiful ode to our hard working teachers. They deserve so much more than they get. Thank you for this, my friend. XO :).
Thanks so much Candace! I think I just might do that… Teachers deserve this appreciation and validation, and I agree that they don’t get as much as they deserve of either.
Beautiful! I am printing this out and giving a copy to each if our teachers. How lucky an i that this week, for us, is Teacher Appreciation Week;)! Thanks Chris!
Oh WONDERFUL Allie!!! I really hope they felt appreciated. 🙂 I’m so glad you passed this on…
I love this!
Thanks so much, my friend! Teachers deserve a little credit and appreciation. 🙂
I agree with My Inner Chick…you should send this letter to your local school! It’s not often they get a beautiful letter like this and it would really be very gratifying to all the teachers there!
Thanks so much, Roshni! I wrote this last year and actually sent it to the principal of my kid’s school, and she passed it along to the teachers. 🙂
So needed saying!
I think we need to not only be so grateful for their dedication, but also consider easing up on the pressure we put on both teachers and students in the pursuit of academia. Education can be found in sitting on the school lawn watching the bees gather nectar and birds build their nests. Or by allowing “play” back into the classroom in balance with learning. Kids definitely need it… and I am sure the teachers might appreciate the classroom being more relaxed.
Oh do I wish, Leslie. It’s gotten out of control- all the academia. Remember when we had recesses? Like one in the morning AND in the afternoon? Sigh… There is no room for play, for outside enjoyment- heck my son has ten minutes to eat his lunch! The pressure is ridiculous-