Written by Kelly Cotter, Posted by Tim McCue
Teacher Appreciation Week is from May 3rd to May 7th. During this week people celebrate teachers. Teachers work hard but do not earn a lot of money. Teachers spend a lot of time buying classroom materials and doing work outside of school. There are not enough teachers. Many teachers have to teach extra classes. Teachers do not get paid for their extra work. Over 20% of teachers work a second job to make enough money to live.
According to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the average teacher works 10 hours and 40 minutes a day.
Teachers have also had to work even harder because of the pandemic. Teachers had to:
– Learn how to use and teach on apps like zoom
– Recreate lessons for online students
– Make sure that students were still learning
– Teach all materials in less time
There were so many other things teachers had to learn.
Many teachers were also expected to go back in person to teach before they received a COVID-19 vaccine.
Special Education teachers were very hurt by the pandemic. They have to be very creative trying to teach following CDC Guidelines. This is hard because many students with disabilities depend on physical support. Teaching in a pandemic also meant schedules changed a lot. This makes special education harder. Many students with disabilities also like to follow routines in class.
Teaching is a very tiring job. Half a million to a million teachers every year quit.
It is very important that we thank teachers. We often forget to thank them for all of their hard work. You can celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week by reaching out to a teacher and saying something nice to them.
You can say something like:
– You were a great teacher
– You are kind
– I am happy I was your student
Appreciating teachers is very easy. Thanking teachers will also mean a lot to them.