This week we celebrate two criminally underappreciated groups for whom I have special affection. It’s Nurse Appreciation Week AND Teacher Appreciation Week! One of the smartest things I ever did was marry a nurse, and both of my parents are teachers. I continually to be personally blessed by the work of people in the nursing and educational professions.
I think every week could easily be a week of appreciation for nurses and teachers, but curiously, Teacher Appreciation week occurs at the END OF THE SCHOOL YEAR. This is a time when a tsunami of apathy snuffs out any residual flickers of student motivation. Meanwhile, teachers feverishly attempt to construct a Damage Control Dam to avoid drowning in the turbulent tide of delinquency. Their reward for “staying afloat” until the Last Day of School is spending the first 3 weeks of Summer Break recovering in a semi-catatonic, mostly unconscious state. It makes you wonder why we even bother with school after April 30th!
And one student, who may or may not be closely related to me, even left a note on her teacher’s desk this week. The exquisitely pristine penmanship made it impossible to miss the message…it read as follows:
“School stinks. Get me out of this House of Horrors!”
You teachers out there may have even been nodding your head in agreement, but please know you are GREATLY APPRECIATED…even if your overly dramatic students sometimes make the end of the year FEEL like a House of Horrors! The reality is that your classroom is not only a Didactic Domicile, but also a Cottage of Compassion and a Pagoda of Patience. Your faithfulness has made a lasting impact on the lives of our kids, and we can’t thank you enough😊
