For Teacher Appreciation week last week, a teacher on social media said she literally received a clown nose with a note saying, “this place would be a circus without you.” Hopefully it was just a joke, but many other teachers said they felt similarly undervalued by their schools.
Thankfully, some teachers chimed in saying they truly feel appreciated in their districts. A couple of the unique, winning ideas I saw were a district that hired a professional photographer for teachers to schedule family or individual sessions and another that brought in a local food truck to serve lunch.
I’ve always rolled my eyes at “appreciation weeks” because we wouldn’t need them if people actually felt appreciated. They seem disingenuous and all too often even disrespectful. My district always did a relatively good job with appreciation week but it didn’t make up for the low pay and heavy, stressful workload.
The U.S. Education Department admits that “teachers earn 26 percent less than comparable college graduates, a pay gap that has grown over time, and that can inhibit people from choosing to become teachers and staying in the profession.”
Teachers in some states have made some gains, especially with the “Red for Ed” movement and strikes, but teachers’ salaries haven’t even kept pace with the rate of inflation which we all know has been skyrocketing. Last year, NPR broke down what has and hasn’t changed since the walkouts began in 2018.
At a time when teacher vacancies have continued to rise and students’ needs have escalated post-pandemic, maybe it’s time to do more than just giving them a week of underwhelming thank you gifts.
New Publication Alert
Another way to appreciate teachers is to make sure they have the knowledge, skills, and support they need to feel successful. Last month, I had the opportunity to share a few tips from my book on Corwin Connect. Check it out to get a jump start on breaking the cycle of academic and emotional-behavioral challenges.
Upcoming Webinar
I’ll also be facilitating a free webinar on Monday, June 10th – four days before I turn 40! I hope you can join me. Use this link to learn more and register.
Trynia Kaufman 
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