Teacher Appreciation

A letter written to all faculty and staff in NYC regarding teacher appreciation day. Too bad our kids and parents haven't the slightest idea what this day is about or what kind of shit we put up with on a regular basis...

Dear Teachers,

Today, we celebrate National Teacher Appreciation Day. It’s a wonderful thing that we have a day dedicated entirely to teachers—but I firmly believe that we should be celebrating teachers every day of the year.

You are the people who, every day, make a difference for our City’s public school students. You help students overcome challenges; you push them ahead when they’re dropping behind; you help them to learn the skills they need for tonight’s homework assignment as well as the skills they’ll need to succeed in college or their first jobs.

This year, teachers in New York City have achieved incredible things.

They opened up new worlds to their students. A science teacher in Harlem, for example, was selected for an eight-week trip to Antarctica, where she will conduct lessons via video-conferencing. An elementary school teacher in the Bronx founded an Irish dance troupe for her students that traveled to Ireland last year and danced in this year’s St. Patrick’s Day parade.

Teachers also exposed their students to opportunities they otherwise might never have had. One teacher helped her students create a malaria awareness banner that will hang in Washington, D.C. A physical education teacher gave her adaptive P.E. students the opportunity to take up fencing.

And, most importantly, teachers figured out how to help students learn—and make it stick. Take, for example, two Pre-Kindergarten teachers, who came up with an ingenious literacy lesson: a wedding ceremony between the letters Q and U, so students wouldn’t forget that these letters always go together.

It takes very special people to broaden students’ horizons, to prompt them to ask new questions, to work with them until they internalize important lessons. This isn’t easy work. In fact, I think it’s probably some of the hardest work anybody could find to do.

For all that you do, I would like to thank you on behalf of all New Yorkers. You change lives with your expertise and your dedication, even on the days that seem the most ordinary. There is a reason that students remember the names of their teachers year after year. Thank you for all that you to do to help New York City's children succeed.

Sincerely,

Joel I. Klein