Celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week May 6-10

   By SheSpeaksTeam  May 01, 2013
8

Teacher Appreciation Week is almost here!  May 7th is the special day we set aside to honor Educators for the central role they play in shaping our future by ensuring every child receives a quality education. And this year, social media is front and center with ways to help let Teachers know how much we appreciate all that they do for kids. 

Want to show your gratitude with a cute ‘n clever gift?  Head over to Pinterest because it is chock full of charming ideas, many DIY, that can work well with an apple, the traditional symbol of knowledge that students have been giving to Teachers for centuries.

Another way you can show support is to change your Facebook status to thank a Teacher who made a difference in your life (all the details made easy here at the National Education Association site) -  and you can also send appreciation messages on Twitter by using the #thankateacher hashtag.

$PullQuote$ Why do we admire Teachers? Beyond the fire of academic curiosity that they light in our children, and the grace with which they develop young people who may come from differing home lives and backgrounds and abilities, and their performance as role models, disciplinarians, coaches and cheerleaders – it is also their above-and-beyond caring that awes us. We saw this years ago in a Teacher whose class was trapped in the first World Trade Center bombing, and now again at Sandy Hook Elementary School – true heroes, all of them.

"Teachers started recognizing me and praising me for being smart in science and that made me want to be even smarter in science!" - Steve Wozniak

"In a completely rational society, the best of us would be teachers and the rest of us would have to settle for something less." - Lee Iacocca

"Most of us end up with no more than five or six people who remember us. Teachers have thousands of people who remember them for the rest of their lives." - Andy Rooney

"The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau." - Dan Rather

Did you know Gene Simmons of Kiss was a Teacher (6th grade, in Harlem, NY) and so was Sting (English), Art Garfunkel (Math), and Sheryl Crow (Music)?

Here at SheSpeaks, we absolutely love watching movies about great Teachers because they are so inspiring! So in addition to Albus Dumbledore of Hogwarts and Mr. Miyagi of The Karate Kid, here are a couple of classics you can watch to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week in style:

  • To Sir With Love
  • Precious
  • Dead Poets Society
  • The Miracle Worker
  • Dangerous Minds
  • Stand and Deliver

Do you have a teacher you will remember for life? How did he or she influence you?


We wish all Teachers a Happy National Teacher Day on May 7th, and we salute them this week, and every week, for the wonderful job they do.
 

Make a Comment

 
SHARE
Comments
natalieg44 by natalieg44 | LK BARRINGTON, IL
May 10, 2013

I was very disappointed in my sons 1st grade teachers behavior. We just got done with the teachers appreciation week. Me and another mom volunteered to decorate her door with the pictures that her class drew for her of her favorite things. I spent 2 hours drawing out neat letters and coloring with my son for extra decorations. On Tuesday after we decorated her door not only did she not say thank you to the moms that decorated but she did not say anything to the children in her class who took their time and kindness to draw pictures from their hearts for her. That was the biggest blow to us all. On the other hand she was very appreciative today after we gave her $200 gift card to Amazon. I guess money is more important than the gifts from the heart to some people. I am deeply hurt and now know what kind of a person she is. Very sad finding on my part this week. Hope everyone else is having better results with their teacher.

honorstudent9 by honorstudent9 | Long Beach, CA
May 07, 2013

My daughter gave her teacher a "Incredible Teacher" certificate and a gift certificate for a free buffet and beverage.

MarineMom52 by MarineMom52 | Oceanside, CA
May 06, 2013

Happy Teachers Week to all those teachers that make a difference in the life of a child!

MovingMom by MovingMom | PORTLAND, OR
May 06, 2013

My 3 children have had the unique opportunity take have Mrs. Ruth Morris for their kindergarten teacher. Mrs. Morris has been teaching at Oregon's Portland Christian School for over 20 years. Her thoughtful and "very" patient approach to teaching is so exciting to watch that I wish I could have gone to her class 30 years ago!

groundedmommom by groundedmommom | BALTIMORE, MD
May 01, 2013

My favorite teacher is my daughter. She fought diversity and is now teaching in a high poverty area. She is inspirational and can relate to many of her students as we were poor as well. My daughter was 1 of 60 nominated in Baltimore City MD, went on to become 1 of 5 finalist and at the end was 1st runner -up.. She will always be my go to person for wisdom. She has 4 children of her own, she is funny, loving and so concerned about today's youth. Here is a quote from Daughter "There is no stronger, more powerful agent of social change than education. It is my personal belief that all students can learn and be successful citizens, in control of their own destinies, despite their socioeconomic status or circumstance. It is also my belief that all students are unique individuals, with varying interests, abilities, prior knowledge and resources and cannot all be taught in one, uniform way."

Kay3131 by Kay3131 | New York, NY
May 01, 2013

To Mrs. Quinn in Philadelphia (yes, I still read the NY Times every day) and to Ira Neimark of Bergdorf's - thank you forever and ever.

missabee by missabee | SULPHUR, LA
May 01, 2013

I had a handful of wonderful teachers who helped shape the woman I have become. They each taught me the things I needed most at that point in my life. My 5th grade teacher taught me that I was worthy of love. There were two in grades 6-8 who taught me that it was ok to be myself, no matter how different from everyone else that girl happened to be; I was fantastic because I was me. I had two very different math teachers in high school who taught me that, even though I learned differently, I could learn the subject and be really good at it. These women and man gave me the confidence to be the real me and not care what other people said about me (I really was bullied quite a bit because I am very odd) and they taught me that I am very intelligent and gave me the means to be myself. I will always love them and appreciate all the very different lessons they each taught me.

linda_answer by linda_answer | SAINT LOUIS, MO
May 01, 2013

My very favorite teacher was my high school journalism teacher. She gave me the push I needed and recognised that I had a talent in writing. I never did pursue a writing career but did do blogs and wrote a few little articles in magazines. Most importantly, she gave me confidence. She had a really cool dry sense of humor. She taugfht me to laugh at myself and not always take myself too seriously. When I wrote my Dad's eulogy and stood up there in front of the church, I was thinking of my teacher. Same when I wrote and presented my brother in law's eulogy. She died a few years later. I never got to thank her for being such a special person and teacher. But now I will. Thanks to all the good teachers who teach us much more than just reading, wrtiing, etc. Some of them teach us about life.