Dear Appreciative Teacher,
To any teacher who has stuck with me through the duration of almost an entire school year of blogs, God bless you.
At this point, I’m rather sick of my own words, so I completely understand if you are too.
To be honest, most days I don’t even know what I will write when I sit down to type. My fingers simply start pecking away, and words spill out like a bag full of marbles with a hole in the bottom.
When I’m finished writing, I survey the damage and think to myself, “Well, that was a mess.”
Then I hit publish and pray for the poor, unsuspecting soul who falls on the loose marbles.
It’s in these moments I realize teaching and writing are identical cousins.
Any teacher who says she knows exactly what will spill out of her bag of tricks on any given day is a bold, face liar.
For the teacher who feels like she’s lost all her marbles, I present you two simple truths.
This week was teacher appreciation week. If there isn’t a PTO greeting line at the entrance to heaven, then the celestial welcome committee has missed one heck of an opportunity.
PTO’s all over the country have rolled out the red carpet for tired teachers this week. Thanks to these generous groups, teachers have dined on sundry snacks, piping-hot pizza, and terrific tamales. In addition, they've been active participants in Oprah’s finest things- the school edition. You get a gift card! You get a gift card! Everybody gets a gift card!
And don’t you know one of those heart-of-gold teachers is going to give away that Panera gift card three minutes after she gets it. Go figure.
That’s because teachers can’t stop themselves from giving any more than they can stop themselves from having blue eyes or olive skin.
It’s simply who they are.
Sometimes they give so much their giving bag gets a little thread bare. When that happens, a few marbles get loose.
Being appreciated isn’t about fancy gifts or fine meals, although those treats are nice.
Any teacher who has made it to May knows the greatest sign of appreciation is someone who comes along at just the right time and helps you pick up your marbles and patch the hole in your bag.
So thank you to parents, students, and every organization that has extended a hand to patch the holes.
How could we keep giving without you?
-CDB
P.S. If you’re still reading, I know what you’re thinking because I’m thinking it too. “Well, that was a mess.”