Last Friday when I dropped off my son at daycare, I noticed a little stack of handouts beside the sign-in sheet. It was marked with a little “Take One” sign, so I did. It turned out to be a reminder that this week is Teacher Appreciation Week [May 3-10 in the US] and gave some suggestions for some nice things we parents could do for our kids’ teachers — writing something nice about them on a comment card, for example, or bringing in a single flower.
My wife and I really do appreciate and respect our son’s teachers, and it’s always seemed to me that they have a particularly difficult job. They spend their entire day corralling a bunch of one- and two-year-olds, making sure they behave and play well together, teaching them about colors, shapes, numbers, comforting them when they’re tired or when they bump their heads or skin their knees. (My son, having more curiosity and energy than coordination, has been the recipient of that comfort quite a lot.) But it seems to me that the most difficult part of their jobs must come when the kids “graduate” to the next classroom.
How much do you remember about your first teachers? My memory goes back further than most people’s, I’ve found, but all that’s remained with me about my pre-school teacher is her name — Ms. Firth — and a vague impression of dishwater blonde hair. And yet, preschool lays the foundation for so much later education, from literacy development and early concepts of mathematics to art and music. It seems unfair that someone who must have had an enormous impact on the course of my life should be so forgotten, but there it is.
Do the teachers at my son’s daycare think about this kind of thing when they watch the kids move on? I don’t know; it’s always been a little too awkward for me to ask. Even if they don’t, though, I know that they genuinely love and care for all of the children they work with, so seeing the kids leave must be hard for them. Thinking of it that way, a card or flowers or a gift certificate to Starbucks seem like cold comfort for these women who give so much time, work, and affection to my son.
I don’t know what I could do to make sure that my son remembers his teachers in any meaningful way; I’m fairly sure, in fact, that it’s not possible. What I know I can do, though, is this: I can remember them. And I will. Whatever else might happen later in my son’s life, I’ll remember all the love and attention they gave my son, and I’ll remember how much it meant to me to know that he was being well cared for.
Ms. Mahuya, Ms. Cristi, Ms. Irene, and Ms. Kelli: Happy Teacher Appreciation Week.
Photo Credit
“Sweet” thank212 @ flickr. Creative Commons. Some Rights Reserved.
Three cheers for teachers! These people do such meaningful work.
I think you already have your gift! Just hit “print.”
::grin:: I mentioned the article to them this morning but it hadn’t quite gone up yet. I hope they like it.
I absolutely LOVE it Mike. I can’t wait to share this with our teachers! Knowing that we have the ability to make a positive impact on just one family is the reason why I chose this profession. We are so blessed to have your beautiful family at our school. I couldn’t have asked for a better gift. THANK YOU so much!