All week, May 2nd – May 7th, we will be celebrating teachers. As many of my educator friends and supporters know, it’s Teacher Appreciation Week. As always, I have been sharing my love for teachers on all forms of social media.
But earlier today, a dear friend via Facebook gave me something to think about:
“I always feel like as a community college instructor, I am in a weird position when it comes to this. Do college educators get thanks? Lol. I know that teaching young students is awfully difficult and they deserve so much more respect/pay/support then they currently receive but I never quite know what to call myself. Not a teacher, not a professor. Feels weird to say English instructor. Semantics I guess.”
Before reading her comment, I did not even think about higher education and the role they play. They are indeed teachers. I know that. But this really gave me something to think about. How do we see instructors, especially community college instructors? If we don’t show our appreciation this week, then when do we?
This week is about appreciation of teachers, particularly those superheroes who teach in a classroom. Naturally, it is easy to think about K-12 educators this week. And don’t get me wrong, we should. As my friend pointed out, K-12 educators don’t receive enough respect, pay or support. But this week, we ought to also remember the less visible superheroes – the ones who take us in even if we didn’t learn everything we were supposed to before entering; the ones who help us as we limp into adulthood. This week, let’s celebrate all educators!
Immediately, after my friend shared her thoughts, I thanked her.
“I’ve never been thanked before,” she said.