10 Things Your Teacher Wants for Teacher Appreciation Week

This week is teacher appreciation week! I treated myself to a much needed pedicure to show myself some appreciation, and my school’s administrators are treating teachers to lunch tomorrow. For me, that’s more than enough. I have thought more about planning out the rest of the year than worrying about just how much I am appreciated this week.

Today I had one of my favorite administrators in my classroom, and he asked my students what they had done to show their appreciate of me during the holiday week. They were surprised to hear that it was teacher appreciation week, and wondered why I hadn’t told them so they could appreciate me appropriately. I joked that it wasn’t my style to demand their appreciation, but they encouraged me to tell them what I wanted. This post was born from that request.

10 Things Your Teacher REALLY Wants for Teacher Appreciation Week

1. Happy Students
I love when my students come into class and greet me with a, “Hi, Mrs. McNally” and a smile. Please say hello and be happy!

2. Engaged Students
I work hard to come up with lessons to enhance your knowledge and skills. Participate in the lessons all week, and give me your undivided attention.

3. Compassionate Students
Be nice to one another. I like you all and you all should like one another.

4. Funny Students
If you can follow all my above requests and make me laugh, you will have the happiest English teacher in the world!

5. Food
Gifts of food are delightful at all times of the year. Tacos are appropriate for teacher appreciation week as it coincides with Cinco de Mayo.

6.  A Parade
I would love a parade worthy of a Super Bowl winner or Stanley Cup champion. Some of the things I get you students to do, trust me. I deserve it!

7. A Massage
Not from you. A gift certificate will do. Grading is stressful!

8. Food
You all know how rough lunch C gets. I’m starving! Better bring buffalo chicken dip to go with the tacos.

9. Jewelry
Back to the Super Bowl and Stanley Cup… don’t they get rings? Yeah, I’m thinking a big ring will do just fine.

10. A Thank You
Sometimes a kind word is plenty.

 

I kid, I kid. I don’t need food, a massage or jewelry to know my students love me and appreciate me.

 

Saying thank you to your favorite teacher is a great way to show your appreciation. If you’re still in class with that teacher, greet him with a smile, be nice to your classmates, and work hard while you’re in class to really show you care.

Nice Matters

making-one-person-smile-can-change-the-world

This morning, after dropping my twins off at the babysitter’s, I was walking to my car when a neighbor was walking past with his dog. He was frowning and didn’t look very happy to be out and about at 7am. He glanced over at me and I greeted him with a smile and a bright, “Good morning!” I didn’t think much of it, as it’s a pretty standard procedure for me to greet anyone I see. As I pulled out of the driveway and went along my way, I had to drive past the man. This time, I noticed he was smiling from ear to year. A few moments before that, he had looked miserable. Had my smile and words changed his perspective?

I attended a small college of national distinction in the hills of West Virginia- Bethany. What struck me about Bethany when I toured as a high school senior was that everyone seemed so happy. Professors welcomed us into their classes to show us experiments they were working on (I still remember the fruit flies and how the professor explained their breeding habits although I have long forgotten his name). Students smiled and said hello as we passed through the corridors of Old Main. Everyone made eye contact and greeted you with a smile as you passed. I actually wondered out loud if they had placed these people just for the tour, but our guide assured me that was just how people acted in that cheery little town. People were just generally nice and kind. Although this wasn’t my only reason for choosing to attend Bethany College, it did influence my decision. Bethany’s outlook on strangers also changed the way I went about my day for the rest of my life.

I always say hello and good morning when I pass colleagues in the halls. It’s funny to me how many people will put their head down and not acknowledge someone passing just feet away from them. I’m as guilty as anyone for getting caught up in my own troubles and problems, but sometimes one little interaction can change your whole perspective. If I’m having a rough morning, a bright greeting from a colleague may change my mood and leave me walking away with a smile. It’s only fair that I give that back whenever I can.

I try to greet as many of my students as I can by name in the hallways with a hello, a smile, and a question about how their English class is going this semester. Some of my students seem mortified that their teacher spoke to them in front of friends, but most leave walking away with a big smile. I hope they pass that smile and kindness on to someone else as they go. I really believe that a kind word can change a day for the better, like a harsh word can send a day into a downward spiral. I believe niceness matters.

I really have no idea if it was my words that perked the man up this morning, or if he was just amused by something his dog did. But it really made me remember that a simple greeting and a smile can change a person’s world.