An Apple For The Teacher

Since my first year of teaching I have always had a basket full of apples for the parents of my students at "meet the teacher night" along with this poem:

"An apple for the teacher 

is really nothing new

Except when you remember

that parents are teachers too!"

This week is Teacher Appreciation week. Tyson took a shiny red apple to his beloved preschool teacher. It was precious. It made me think about this poem and realize that I now fit both categories! Sometimes I am not sure which job is harder...

But both are rewarding. Please remember to thank a teacher (teacher assistant, retired teacher, school counselor, etc...) and pray for them whenever you can. I LOVE teaching children, but having the job of "teacher" has started to involve so much more. Each year new initiatives, programs, directives, scripts (I wish I were kidding), expectations, mountains of paperwork, staff "development" (that is such an odd term to me), students (larger class sizes),assessments and much more are added to the list of things we must do. All while resources, personnel, expectations of parental support and benefits (insurance, retirement percentage) are subtracted! And our salaries have been frozen for the past 5 years. Yet so so many teachers continue to be dedicated to use their God-given talents to educate children. It is always a bit ironic to me that Teacher Appreciation Week usually comes during testing (meaning Elementary teachers have no assistants-if they have one in the first place, no lunch break, and no planning time-oh and no recess! Its a joy!) or on a week with tons of before/after school meetings filled with projection (of doom) for the following school year (I need to focus on finishing teaching my current students before I can think about "new ideas" for next.).  Yet regardless...we love our students and are glad to have a week of thanks! Little pig-tailed faced bringing in a flower or a tough little guy making a handmade card make it so special! And the sweet little face in the above picture makes me thankful for the opportunity to be his very first teacher and prayerful for all of the many teachers that will influence his life.