On My Tenth World Teachers' Day...
On my tenth World Teachers' Day as an educator I was given a roughly cut printable card with a pun-derful design that my new set of homeroom students names written in...
I was given two chocolate chip cookies in a plastic bag and offered hot chocolate that I couldn’t have due to my allergy…
My inbox was dinging every single period with “World Teachers' Day” trivia and upcoming deadlines and my day ended with an unexpected phone call…
By the time I got home and processed it all I realized two things:
- I forgot to post my favourite teaching quote of all time...1
- Things weren’t always like this.
I didn’t get into teaching for the gifts or the breaks. I got into teaching after being surrounded by brilliant educators my entire life and realizing I wanted to be a part of that. I didn’t get into teaching for the acknowledgement I got into teaching because I deeply believe education is one of the few things the world cannot strip you of and can lead to liberation. After a string of terrible teaching years, an ineffective strike and what I can only describe as being in a state of walking burnout I can feel myself beginning to get more pessimistic about the state of education.
Some of the best moments of recognition were the ones that happened organically. In the spirit of reflection and a very belated World Teachers' Day blog entry, I wanted to take a moment and share some of the greatest moments of being seen and appreciated by the people who matter the most in education (in no particular order):
- In my first year of teaching my students organized a petition to request that I stay in a permanent role to administration. It didn’t quite work but I knew I had done my job right when I saw them take this on.
- When teaching third grade, one of my students overheard me mention to another teacher that I ran out of sticky notes for the year and the office refused to give me more. The next day their parent who ran a dollar store showed up with a boxful of sticky notes and said that if I ever needed more just to come by. Since then the box has run out, but the memory still remains in my heart every time I buy sticky notes.
- After noticing my tea thermos had a tiny rainbow mug attached to it that I would pour my chai or other tea into at work, a student bought a tiny espresso cup so "your tiny cup has a friend now"
- A few years ago, I had a student obsessed with space so I’d always take the time to mention any space related events during our weekly current events discussions, at the end of the year they gifted me a Sephora gift card because they remembered me mentioning that I just don’t feel like myself without my eyeliner on...
- My high school visual arts student who took my "submit a kermit meme with late assignments" task very seriously and drew a picture of me as Kermit the Frog... Or is it Kermit the Frog dressed as me?
- The students who approached me about running a variety of social justice related clubs and made such a substantial impact on our school community that it reminded me that yes... The kids are alright.
- Every drawing, crochet creation, letter and card students have given me over the years even though I am running out of room in my box because I know those gifts took time to make and I treasure them the most.
- Every unexpected encounter with students many years after teaching, including one of a student who I taught nine years ago running into me while we both commuted on public transit.
- After hearing me use the phrase “upsetti spaghetti” a few times in my class a student took the time at home to make me a can of it. Yes, it was just a regular can of Heinz spaghetti and yes the label was unfortunately AI generated but the gesture warmed my frozen heart just a little bit more.
What I experienced on October 5th this year wasn’t a lack of consideration or care, I think it is a deeper indication of how things are looking for frontline teachers across the globe. World Teachers’ Day has become just another day of recognition that (funnily enough) teachers themselves have to organize a celebration for otherwise it becomes a footnote in increasingly busy years...
Upon reflection though, it is the moments that I still remember now that have the largest impact. Those moments are what teaching is all about.
"I hate teaching. I don't take apprentices. I don't impart knowledge." - Jade Curtiss, Tales of the Abyss (2005)↩