Appreciation Should Start at Home
Teacher Appreciation Week in our district starts on Monday. I am grateful to work in a supportive community where students, parents, and families do so much to appreciate our entire staff. Of special note, each PTO is remarkable. Staff luncheons and special, small gifts are so nice. Our PTO arranges for kids to write notes to each staff member. Those notes mean more than anything. I recently shared on morning announcements the best appreciation any student can ever offer is to smile, work hard, ask good questions, and be a great leader. That's why we do what we do.
While I am preparing ways to personally "appreciate" my staff, I'm also making Mother's Day plans. I am fortunate beyond belief to be able to purchase cards for my wife, my mother and mother in-law, and both of my grandmothers. I wish I lived closer than seven hours away from my mother and grandmothers, but I make sure to call them and see them as much as possible. My time with my grandmothers, especially, is time I never take for granted. Someday I will write more about these special moms, but I know each of these women have shaped me and helped make me who I am today. So, is it a surprise that Mother's Day is the final weekend of Teacher Appreciation Week?
I was recently reminded by a colleague that the most important teaching happens at home. Schools do a fine job of teaching math, reading, and writing, and my school and district are actively teaching leadership skills based on Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I'm not convinced, however, that schools do as great a job of teaching kids how to smile and work hard as our families do. From my experience in the classroom and in the principal's seat, students' attitudes about learning and a willingness to persevere definitely come from home.
As a parent, I catch myself reflecting how my attitudes are impacting our daughters' attitudes. When I have chores to do around the house or a project due at work, do I complain about them or do I find the joy in learning and challenging myself? Do I find ways to involve others, or do I choose to not collaborate or to not learn from other people? Do I see mistakes as an opportunity to learn something new, or do I blame others for my faults? Do I push myself to reach farther than I expected, or do I settle for the status quo? Do I see the good in everything, or do I only see the problems? I am grateful how I can usually answer (Honesty hurts!) each of these questions because of my wife, my mother, my mother in-law, and my grandmothers!
Somewhere along the way I learned a saying, "We don't raise children. We raise mirrors." If you're a parent, you know this when you go to talk but hear your mom or dad come out in your mouth! I'm not saying we are exact replicas of our parents, but...for better or worse...children and students are watching us. I'm blessed to have had and still have great teachers at school and in my family to watch.
As we go through this week and next weekend:
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week. (Thank you, Mrs. Schmidt, Miss Laird, Mrs. Fauerbach, Mrs. Jackson, Harris, and Miss Salzwedel---my elementary teachers. I will need to mention my specials teachers and secondary teachers at a later time.)
AND
Happy Mother's Day! (Kim, Sandy, Grandma Ascher, Grandma Mac, and Mom! I love you and always will.)
While I am preparing ways to personally "appreciate" my staff, I'm also making Mother's Day plans. I am fortunate beyond belief to be able to purchase cards for my wife, my mother and mother in-law, and both of my grandmothers. I wish I lived closer than seven hours away from my mother and grandmothers, but I make sure to call them and see them as much as possible. My time with my grandmothers, especially, is time I never take for granted. Someday I will write more about these special moms, but I know each of these women have shaped me and helped make me who I am today. So, is it a surprise that Mother's Day is the final weekend of Teacher Appreciation Week?
I was recently reminded by a colleague that the most important teaching happens at home. Schools do a fine job of teaching math, reading, and writing, and my school and district are actively teaching leadership skills based on Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I'm not convinced, however, that schools do as great a job of teaching kids how to smile and work hard as our families do. From my experience in the classroom and in the principal's seat, students' attitudes about learning and a willingness to persevere definitely come from home.
As a parent, I catch myself reflecting how my attitudes are impacting our daughters' attitudes. When I have chores to do around the house or a project due at work, do I complain about them or do I find the joy in learning and challenging myself? Do I find ways to involve others, or do I choose to not collaborate or to not learn from other people? Do I see mistakes as an opportunity to learn something new, or do I blame others for my faults? Do I push myself to reach farther than I expected, or do I settle for the status quo? Do I see the good in everything, or do I only see the problems? I am grateful how I can usually answer (Honesty hurts!) each of these questions because of my wife, my mother, my mother in-law, and my grandmothers!
Somewhere along the way I learned a saying, "We don't raise children. We raise mirrors." If you're a parent, you know this when you go to talk but hear your mom or dad come out in your mouth! I'm not saying we are exact replicas of our parents, but...for better or worse...children and students are watching us. I'm blessed to have had and still have great teachers at school and in my family to watch.
As we go through this week and next weekend:
Happy Teacher Appreciation Week. (Thank you, Mrs. Schmidt, Miss Laird, Mrs. Fauerbach, Mrs. Jackson, Harris, and Miss Salzwedel---my elementary teachers. I will need to mention my specials teachers and secondary teachers at a later time.)
AND
Happy Mother's Day! (Kim, Sandy, Grandma Ascher, Grandma Mac, and Mom! I love you and always will.)
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