This week in the United States is , a time set aside each year to honor the hard work that educators do every day in the classroom and beyond. This week is a good time to reflect on the teachers we have had, to appreciate our colleagues, and to take time for ourselves!
All of us have had a teacher who has made a profound difference in our lives鈥攕omeone who changed our lives, made us think more deeply, set our feet on the right path. Perhaps it was a teacher we met in a classroom, but it could just have easily been a coach, a youth group leader, a family or community elder, or religious leader. In , students write a tribute to such a teacher, someone who has taught them an important lesson that they still remember. The personal essays that students write for this lesson are then published in a class collection. This is an activity that teachers can take part in too!
In English Leadership Quarterly, Nicole Sieben and Gordon Hultberg share how they collaborate across time zones, and show how teacher organizations foster meaningful professional relationships that have a lasting impact on student learning experiences.
Self-care for teachers requires that we be both diligent and creative, say Jen Johnson and Marcelle Mentor in The Council Chronicle. It is important to remember to attend to “our physical, mental, spiritual, relationship, psychological self-care.”
How can you celebrate teachers as well as yourself and your colleagues?