by Lisa Cook
April 26, 2022
During the week of May 2-6, be on the lookout for reminders from your local PTA asking you to donate treats to the school. Heading to the nearest Chipotle? It's about to turn into a Depression-era bread line full of teachers, badges in hand, waiting for their one free burrito a year. That’s right, Teacher Appreciation Week is just around the corner.
Time to break out the popsicle sticks, hot glue, glitter, and cutesy puns to create a truly unique gift for that one special educator, right?
No. Stop right there. Put the glue gun down, ma'am.
This year, teachers need genuine appreciation–or else.
A year and a half of social media posts from parents on the brink of nervous breakdowns with their children learning at home and contentious school board meetings show that, just in case we didn’t realize it before the pandemic, we really do all want students in school buildings in classrooms where they have opportunities to work with teachers one-on-one on a daily basis. However, if we do not stop the bleeding of teachers from the field, schools will soon have no other option than to revert back to virtual classes. The good news is there are small steps each of us can take to begin to heal our wounded system.
At a systemic level, school districts have made small attempts to appreciate and retain us. Just now, a month before contracts expire, school districts around the nation are finally discussing pay increases for next school year, not to stay competitive with corporate jobs, but just to try to keep up with inflation or prevent an exodus to a nearby school district that pays just $1,000 more. This is too little too late. And it still does not cover all the years teachers have been denied raises because of the decision of one politician or another.
Sadly, beyond this Hail Mary play at the district level, I cannot point to many other attempts to keep skilled teachers in the classroom. A mentor meeting here. A free breakfast there. A couple of free meditation guides on an app. It’s just not enough to help us through these stressful times, even though we love teaching and we love working with young people.
Those of us who have stayed in the profession through the last two years did not sign up for this job for the money. We’ve sustained our resolve in the hopes that our efforts will pay off in the long run. We plant seeds and hope that they bear fruit in the form of a functioning and flourishing society years down the line.
Unfortunately, for many of us, it’s just not enough anymore. We need the same kind of benefits, incentives, and consideration our corporate counterparts receive if teaching is to become a field in which professionals want to stay.
For my colleagues and I who’ve already put in our resignations, it’s too late to woo us into staying. But if you want to keep teachers in schools, here are some meaningful ways each individual can support educators and all those who benefit from their work this year for Teacher Appreciation Week:
Vote in local and state elections
If your child’s education matters to you, if you want the “free child care” for 9 months out of the year, you must vote for candidates who will fund public education and listen to teachers. If the person you are voting for says they want to help teachers but their focus group to investigate the teacher shortage is full of business leaders and few teachers, you may need to reconsider your vote. The system will not change and teachers will not stay in the field unless the people in power decide that we are worth listening to.
Communicate with your superintendent and school board
Ok, ok…many school board meetings have been a bit of a circus the last few years. But it shows us something that many of us already knew–the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If you are concerned about the lack of mental health support for kids and teachers in schools, speak up. If you think teachers in your district deserve a wage that is competitive with corporate positions with similar job requirements, speak up. If you see people in your district advocating for policies that hurt kids by hurting teachers mentally and emotionally, speak up. Teachers have learned that our voices rarely matter when it comes to decisions at the highest levels, so we need you to use your voice because your voice will be heard.
Volunteer in public schools
Nearly every job category in public schools has unfilled positions. Hall monitors, instructional aides in special education, cafeteria workers, custodians, receptionists, cafeteria monitors, parking lot attendants–these are all roles that community volunteers could and should help with. Why? Because if they don’t, that teacher who is already burnt out and thinking about leaving the classroom next week will be asked to cover those duties rather than spend time grading papers or planning lessons.
You also need to see what it’s like in schools, especially if you want to be a part of the conversation and a part of the solution. Don’t just listen to what pundits spout on nightly cable news. Get into the buildings to meet educators and build relationships with the young people who will take care of us when we get old.
Apply to be a substitute teacher
Of course, teachers get sick and have personal matters to attend to throughout the school year. They’re human. But did you know that teachers sometimes take sick and personal days in order to grade, do paperwork, finish online training, and perform other tasks that they are unable to complete while they have students in the room? We feel tremendous amounts of guilt when, due to the sub shortage, our colleagues have to give up their planning periods to cover our classes in order for us to take a day off.
If you have at least 2 years of college under your belt and even just half a day available during the workweek, you are likely able to substitute in your local schools to give teachers a break and to build meaningful relationships with kids. Visit your district’s webpage for specific details.
Get mental health support for your child
Students right now are struggling to negotiate mental health struggles, peer conflicts, and overall stress related to the future in a post-covid world, but the system has not yet caught up to these needs. This means teachers bear the brunt of the social and emotional work that helps students get out of these mental and emotional headspaces so they can learn academic skills. If you have the means, seek outside mental health support for your child, even if they seem to be doing just fine. The more children grow socially and emotionally with the help of trained professionals, the better the learning environment will be for everyone, including our teachers.
Mentor or tutor students
If you do not have children in public schools, find other ways to have positive relationships with students. Kids need adults in their lives who can show them how to overcome major adversities, how to deal with everyday problems, and how to engage socially without a screen in front of them. Or perhaps a student is having trouble in school because they fell behind during virtual learning–tutor them one-on-one or in small groups in a subject area in which you excel. Look for volunteer opportunities in your area through Volunteer Match.
Write a genuine letter of appreciation
Almost every teacher I know has either a wall or a folder dedicated to letters, drawings, photos, and thank you notes students and parents have given to them over the years. On the hardest days, being able to look at one of these mementos can mean the difference between a teacher walking out of the building and girding their loins to keep at it for the rest of the day.
Any note of appreciation is great, but they’re better if they contain specific information about the positive effects the teacher has had on the life of the parent and/or student. Teachers need to know that the little things they do every day to care for kids make a difference because we never see the “finished product” like people in other professions might. In fact, I only recently started seeing the fruits of my labors as I began expanding my network on LinkedIn while I look for jobs outside of teaching and a former student who is now a successful financial advisor helped me get a job interview.
So write to your child’s teacher(s). Better yet, write to the teachers you had over the years who you think back on fondly. They will be delighted to hear about your successes since you left their classroom and the memories you have of your time together.
Gift cards, gift cards, gift cards
Everyone knows that teachers don’t get paid enough for the 10 months of 50+ hour weeks they devote to the nation’s youth. We’ve all heard about the money teachers pull out of their own pockets to buy pallets of water bottles, boxes and boxes of snacks, classroom supplies, books, and personal hygiene products for their students (even though we can only claim $250 of our spending when we file our taxes). So, show some love with a gift card to a place where the teacher can purchase something for themselves. They’ve already bought so much for the kids.
So…will any of this solve the issue of teachers leaving the profession? Probably not. The issues need to be resolved at the higher levels of our districts and government. But while we wait for those changes to happen, show your teachers some love. Sure, it’s the kind thing to do this Teacher Appreciation Week, but an outpouring of support from students, former students, parents, and community members might be enough to keep a teetering workforce of teachers from tipping into a world where the only system of public education that can be sustained is virtual learning.
Lisa Cook has been a teacher of reading and writing and an advocate for students with disabilities in public schools for 18 years. In 2022, she made the decision to take her love of learning and helping others grow in the corporate world. While she is excited to begin her new career, she will always champion public educators. Connect with Lisa on LinkedIn.
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