Teacher Appreciation Week 2011
Teacher Appreciation Week is next week, and I am pondering how best to express my heartfelt gratitude to Bito’s teachers. As a former teacher myself, I want to make sure whatever my family does reflects our sincere thanks…and I also want to make sure the teachers like what we decide to give them!
In my teaching career, I’ve seen administrators, PTAs, parents, and students go out of their way to make Teacher Appreciation Week truly special. One year, my principal and her staff solicited gift certificates from area restaurants that teachers won via lottery. Another school at which I taught served cheesecake to all teachers during class time. Many schools’ PTAs make it a point to have breakfasts or luncheons, to make the teachers feel special. Donuts mysteriously appear in the faculty lounges, and flowers may appear on teachers’ desks as well.
Along with the good memories of Teacher Appreciation Week come some that are memorable for other reasons. There was the time each teacher was given a box of sample-sized grooming items. It contained deodorant, toothpaste, soap, razors, etc. I wish I was kidding. The teachers wondered if the administration was trying to tell us something about our personal hygiene. Other gifts I’ve received includes mugs, pens, water bottles and every type of school supply under the sun. And then there were the small travel alarm clocks bestowed upon every teacher one year. Those were nice…until they all died within 24 hours. Every last one of them.
I don’t mean to sound ungrateful because I was not. I did not become a teacher in order to collect stuff. Some of the appreciation gifts that mean the most are when parents and students notice something about the teacher and do something thoughtful along those lines. One student gave me a little stamp dispenser, designed to hold a roll of stamps. She’d written a heartfelt note, rolled it up, and stuffed it inside. I still have that. Another teacher, known for stopping at 7-Eleven each morning to get his morning caffeine, was given a 7-Eleven gift card. A personally painted flower pot was given to a co-worker of mine who loves to garden.
So for Bito’s teachers, I want to ensure they knows how truly grateful we are to them. I am not sure that can be done in just one week, with just one gift. Still, I intend to try. There is no way I could not try.
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