Anyone else humming “The Golden Girls” theme song “Thank you for being a friend”?

May is the time when we celebrate the hard work and dedication of teachers. Teacher Appreciation Week is a small drop in the vast, complicated ocean that is teaching. But having a specific day or week called out helps us remember to honor this incredible profession.

In 2015 I celebrated The Art of Teaching during Teacher Appreciation Week. In that post I remembered some great learning experiences I had, thanks to my own teachers. Teachers still rock!

This year I just want to thank each and every teacher – the teachers I’ve had, the teachers I’ve known and worked with, the teachers I connect with through Social Media or conferences, and all the millions of teachers I’ve never met.

Teaching is hard. It is complicated, challenging, and rewarding work. People outside of education spend a lot of time judging teaching. But only those of us who have stood in a classroom full of students understand the reality. Teaching is powerful. Teaching is learning every day. Teaching is creativity as well.

In the last 3 months I’ve visited 180 classrooms in my district. I would like to thank these teachers for:

• creating risk-taking environments for students.
• welcoming colleagues into their classrooms.
• wanting and appreciating feedback on their work.
• creating labs and hands-on experiences that engaged students through multiple modalities.
• integrating technology into lessons that asked students to think critically.
• providing authentic, rich texts for students to read and discuss.
• making learning meaningful for students.
• framing lessons around essential questions that lead to deep inquiry.
• trying out Twitter for the first time.
• being willing to plan an Edcamp.
• being awesome every day!

THANK YOU TEACHERS!

I hope that during this Teacher Appreciation Week  you take time to thank a teacher.

#TeachersRock