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May 7,
2002 will be
National Teacher Day, a time
for honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make
to our lives. National Teacher Day is always the Tuesday of the first full
week of May, so the actual date varies from year to year. That whole week
-- this year May 5-11 -- is
designated Teacher Appreciation Week
by the
National PTA.
It's a time to
strengthen support & respect for teachers & the teaching profession.
National Teacher’s Hall of Fame
The origins
of National Teacher Day are a bit murky, but it's known that an Arkansas
teacher, Mrs. Mattye Whyte Woodridge, began corresponding with political
and education leaders as early as 1944 about the need for a national day
honoring teachers. One of the leaders she wrote to was Eleanor Roosevelt,
who persuaded the 81st Congress to proclaim a National Teacher Day in
1953.
In the late
1970s, the National Education Association, its Indiana and Kansas state
affiliates, and its local affiliate in Dodge City, Kansas, all lobbied
Congress on behalf of creation of a national day celebrating teachers.
Congress declared March 7, 1980, as National Teacher Day for that year
only.
NEA and its
affiliates continued to observe Teacher Day on the first Tuesday in March
until 1985, when NEA and the National PTA established Teacher Appreciation
Week as the first full week of May. The NEA Representative Assembly then
voted to make the Tuesday of that week National Teacher Day.
"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where
his influence stops."
--Henry Brooks Adams
"The mediocre teacher
tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The
great teacher inspires." --William Arthur Ward
"The art of teaching
is the art of assisting discovery." --Mark Van Doren
"If you plan for a
year, plant a seed. If for ten years, plant a tree. If for a hundred
years, teach the people. When you sow a seed once, you will reap a single
harvest. When you teach the people, you will reap a hundred harvests." --Kuan
Chung
"Information is the
currency of democracy." --Ralph Nader
"Education is light,
lack of it darkness." --Russian proverb
"Whoever first coined
the phrase 'you're the wind beneath my wings' most assuredly was
reflecting on the sublime influence of a very special teacher." --Frank
Trujillo
Why Do I Teach?
By
Teresa Marrero
Assistant professor of foreign languages and literatures, University of
North Texas
When I was asked to write about why I teach, the answer seemed to be a
mystery. But after some serious thought, I found that it is not so much a
mystery as it is a fascination: a fascination with the alchemical magic
that takes place when things “click.”
It was not always so with me. I ventured out of high school to become a
flight attendant. I wanted freedom from the restrictions of a strict
Hispanic, Catholic upbringing, and this career choice seemed to do the
trick. But, with this one choice, I managed to offend the holy trinity: my
mother, my aunt and my godmother.
Nevertheless, I went forth into the clear, blue skies. My fascination with
my career choice did not last long.
As it turned out, my fascination with a number of other professional
endeavors also flickered out quickly. Thus, I became a returning adult
student at California State University in Long Beach. Out of the bravery
that ignorance nurtures, during my first semester as an undergraduate, I
signed up for a graduate seminar in the Spanish Generation of 1898. I
discovered Spanish philosophical thought, and my mind learned to really
fly. I was hooked.
After graduating cum laude (and working full time, plus being involved in
student politics), I decided to go for it. I would not stop until there
were no more degrees to be had. The holy trinity, by now, was on my side.
Once I had my doctorate, I had found a fascination that stuck. It became
clear to me that why I love teaching is ultimately related to my
insatiable curiosity as a learner.
I teach because I continually want to learn, and the process of learning
and teaching is the mysterious phenomenon that feeds my soul.
By Sharon
Coatney, Library Media Specialist
Oak Hill School, Overland Park, Kan.
Why am I still doing
this? As I drive the daily thirty miles to school in snow, sleet and
sometimes, thankfully, beautiful sunshine, I wonder. Why indeed? I think
it may be because of the questions. My life is filled with learners’
questions. “Mrs. Coatney, do you think one oil will float on another one?” Why does this book not say Alvin Schwartz is
dead, Mrs. Coatney? You told me that you knew him and that you knew he had
died several years ago.” “Where is Planet X?” “I don’t get it. What is
Tippecanoe?” For almost 30 years, first as a teacher, now as a
teacher/librarian, I have been helping learners find the answers to their
questions. They can be enlightening. The other day during a lesson about
the seal of the great state of Kansas, a kindergarten student asked me,
“But Mrs. Coatney, that does not look like a seal. Why not?” He was right.
I have been teaching that unit for years and have never thought to clarify
for these new learners that the word “seal” has more than one meaning.
Those questions do enlighten and instruct, and ultimately have given me
the answer I seek. Recently, when another kindergarten student asked me
why anyone would do those good things that Martin Luther King did, one of
the other children replied, “Because, he has love in his soul.” I think
that may be why many of us are still doing this good work.
The following narrative was written in
response to a nomination for the National (Teaching) Intern of the Year
award at NAAEPCL in May 1998.
Teaching has been my dream job. Having worked in
many other professions, teaching is the only one that has allowed me to
combine my many interests and talents with the opportunity to change
lives. To teach another person is to shape a mind and to potentially
change a future. Many people see teaching as a difficult job in today's
world. While this is true, hard work is easy to endure if you are doing
something you truly believe in and enjoy.
I have been fortunate enough to travel during the
past five years to teach in Thailand, Bulgaria, and Mexico. The basic
issues and needs of youth around the world are the same. All of them are
looking for affirmation, safety, and a sense of belonging. As fewer
families provide the much needed time and care, students start to look for
these things in other places. If they do not find it in the classroom,
they will look for it among peers and other sources. As a teacher, I have
the incredible opportunity to care for and nurture many young minds.
The California State University at Hayward -
Oakland Unified School District Partnership Program made entering the
teaching world possible for me and many others. It allows experienced
people to teach and take credential classes at the same time. Thus
providing a very financially feasible option. It also provides an
excellent way to begin teaching with great effectiveness. By forming a
cohort group of unique individuals with a shared intense experience,
meaningful relationships are formed. Original ideas, lessons, and failures
are exchanged with great freedom and encouragement. The program recruits
many people of color that can relate to the students and it addresses many
of the critical issues in urban education.
I choose to teach in an urban area because they
often have the least amount of resources along with the highest needs.
Having grown up in East Los Angeles, I know what it is like to not have a
perfect school. I also have personally experienced life changing ideas and
opportunities that memorable teachers have given me. As I entered into the
teaching world, I wanted to teach in a place where my work can make the
most difference. This ended up being Oakland, a city I love and deeply
long for changes to happen.
I love to teach middle school. They are often
considered the most neglected grades. Many people find those years to be
the most difficult to teach. But I find the students to be energetic,
curious, and fun. Everyday in my class is an adventure in learning new
things for my students and me. They are at a transitional point in their
lives when so many major decisions are made. And I have the daily
opportunity to influence all of them. There is no other place that I would
rather be.
The more I teach, the more I realize that for
effective change to happen in the lives of my students, I must be
committed to making changes beyond the classroom walls. This year, I began
to integrate more aspects of the community into my curriculum. I have
tried to tie many of the assignments and projects to their families and
community. During our unit on electricity, a simple interview with seniors
about life with less electricity led to relationship and understanding
about the older people in the community. We hold four family science
nights a year that allow students to visit with their families in the
evening to enjoy food and science together. Field trips to University of
California at Berkeley give my students a chance to not only see what real
"scientist" do, but also allows them to see where they might end up in a
few years if they work hard. I also invite people from the community to
share how science is used in their daily lives. When I taught our unit on
forensic science, a field detective came and explained how crime evidence
is collected. Students were amazed to see how his work is very similar to
the labs we did in class.
Today's teachers in the United States today are
called to do much more than the in past. There are many problems in the
current educational and socioeconomic system. The needs are as great as
ever, but teachers can stand in some of those gaps. This is a gap that
many others and I can shorten. To be a teacher is to give and receive
great gifts that few people realize they possess.
By an Anonymous Author
I teach, because I recognize the importance of
the role of interpersonal connections with students as a means to
facilitate learning. One of the problems with large classes is that they
disengage students from the learning process. Many students feel isolated
and come to view themselves as just another number in a sea of numbers,
which is one of the leading complaints by students at large universities.
As a result, some students come to view the instructor as unapproachable.
One way I attempt to make the courses I teach more personal is to have
students write down on a 3 x 5 index card their name and a hobby they
enjoy or something unique about them they do not mind others knowing. I
then go over the cards in class as a type of introductory session. I also
study the cards by associating the students’ names with their hobby or
unique quality. When I elicit responses from students and ask them their
name, students are impressed when I rattle off their hobby, but such a
method is only feasible with a small number of students. In larger
classes, I plan to ask students as they leave the class on the first day
to step in front of a video camera and say their full-name or nick-name,
if they prefer, and tell me a hobby they enjoy or a something unique about
them. This will enable me to associate their name with a face and a hobby.
I also teach because I enjoy the constant
challenges faced as a teacher. The teaching approach that is successful
for one group of students is not necessarily successful with another
group. One needs to be aware of what method of presentation is best for
each group of students to maximize student learning. In teaching
psychology, I believe an extraordinary opportunity exists to present not
only the body of knowledge covered in a course, but also our own point of
view. This is an remarkable responsibility for educators. We must be more
than lecturers. We must be more than a fountain of knowledge spilling
forth information. In order to be successful at conveying information, I
believe the communication of concepts through the use of innovative
strategies and creative analogies that engage the student is paramount to
learning. The vast majority of students have been raised entirely in the
age of advancing technology and are accustomed to material being presented
in an engaging manner. Because of the advancements in technology, this
task is more difficult now because we must incorporate these kinds of
advancements into our presentations in order to be effective educators. If
we are to be effective educators, then we must first capture their
attention.
WAYS TO SHOW YOUR APPRECIATION
Teacher's Survival Kit:
MOUNDS: for the mounds of stuff you teach.
CRAYONS: to color your day.
PEANUTS: to get a little nutty.
BAND-AIDS: for when things get a little rough.
MARBLES: to replace those you might lose from time
to time.
SPONGE: to soak up the overflow, when your brain is
too full.
PUZZLE PIECES: without you, things wouldn't be
complete.
LIFESAVERS: for when you've had one of those days.
HUG & KISSES: to make everything all worthwhile.
SUPPLIES are something teachers run out of
each year, help stock them up (8-1/2 x 11 copy paper, pens, pencils,
crayons, colored pencils, stickers, erasers, rulers, Kleenex, glue sticks,
zip lock bags (gallon size, sandwich size, and snack size) chalk,
construction paper, legal pads, pocket folders, 3 ring binders - gather
all the basics that teachers need and present them in a large reusable
storage crate or use several clear plastic shoeboxes depending on the
sizes of the items.
Send a notice home with all students to request that
students and their parents take time to write a PERSONAL NOTE to
each of their children's teachers, thanking them for the special time and
effort they have provided throughout the year. A simple "thank you"
is amazingly powerful and is ALWAYS appreciated!
Each morning of Teacher Appreciation Week, place a
SMALL GIFT on each teacher's desk. Examples: apples or oranges,
pencils printed with their names on
them, coupons for ice cream cones, small
basket of lotions or soaps, flowers, plants,
gift certificates for places like Wal-Mart,
movie theater passes,
bookmarks, key-chains, chocolate
anything - i.e. m&m's, notepads, microwave
popcorn, or gift certificates for a
video rental or a free car wash.
Donate a book (or books) to the
school library in the names of all the people who have been part of your
child's life this year. Then give a card to each individual telling them
why they were so important to your child and how this gift will help other
children as much as he/she helped your child.
Present each teacher with a single carnation
flower with the following poem attached-
Children are like seeds planted in the garden of life.
It is a parent's and teacher's job to nourish that seed.
Like the sun, they shine love and kindness upon it.
Like the rain, they shower it with affection.
And like the soil, they shelter it and provide a safe place for growth.
May this flower remind you of
just how many seedlings
you have nourished and helped to blossom.
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