Teachers deserve your appreciation

This year, teacher appreciation week is May 2-6.

The week is generally used for students to give their teachers gifts and treats as a way to show the students’ appreciation and thank the teacher.

But shouldn’t teachers be appreciated all the time.

The fact that they need a full week dedicated to teachers just to appreciate them shows that they aren’t appreciated enough.

We shouldn’t give gifts and “appreciate” teachers for one week as the end of the school year approaches just because it has been established as a celebration.

Teachers should be genuinely appreciated each and every day. Teachers are the people in my life, as well as a number of others, that positively impact lives.

They go out of their way to make sure their students — who are usually seen similarly to their own kids — are alright day in and day out. 

Most teachers provide a comfortable environment for students away from their home.

My mom shared that during COVID-19 one of the most concerning things about going into distant learning is that you know some of the kids’ favorite part of their day is when they are at school, away from home, or school lunch is the only guaranteed meal for some students.

Teachers genuinely care about each and every one of their students even if it isn’t always noticed.

Most people can probably name a teacher that has positively impacted their life. If they can’t name one, they have probably been impacted by one without realizing it.

And in appreciation of teachers, they should be paid more for the work that they do. 

Teachers are teaching each generation and the people that will eventually become doctors, scientists, lawyer, politicians, and everything in between. 

To teach those kids, they work from about 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., which doesn’t include the work they do at school before and after students arrive, as well as the work they continue at home with grading papers and preparing for another day of teaching.

With the work that teachers do, and the education schools provide, education deserves to receive more money from federal tax dollars.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP), only 2% of federal tax dollars is dedicated toward public education while Medicare, Medicaid, CHIP, and marketplace subsidies get 25%, Social Security gets 23% and defense and international security assistance gets 16%.

Education also deserves to be a higher priority for the government because again, the students in class now will be running the government a few decades down the road.

The low priority of the education system was quickly seen when most locations closed down schools too soon as a way to try and combat the spread of COVID-19.

But that didn’t change the extra work and stress that the pandemic brought and still brings to teachers. 

While in isolation, teachers worried about the wellbeing of students in rough households and now teachers worry about the health of students.

So, if you see one of your teachers or professors, say thank you. 

You might have showed up on a rough day but so did your teacher. Appreciate that.