Gratitude for Teachers
Never have I been so eager to wake up at 5:00 a.m. as I was this past Tuesday: my son's first day of a school year with full-time and regular instruction days and hours—Mondays through Fridays, 7:50 a.m. to 2:35 p.m.!
My feelings of elation resulted in me contemplating gratitude for my son’s teachers. I wouldn't by any means say that I have taken them for granted over the course of his education. As a teacher myself, I have always been cognizant and appreciative of their talents and time and efforts, especially outside of class time. However, I haven’t taken the time to communicate this appreciation to them as much as I should have or plan to do so moving forward because I was too "busy."
This past year and a half, I was truly busy. But even then, is that an excuse to have forborne saying "thank you" to the teachers who were helping me educate my child during that time? How long does it take to say the words "thank you" to someone versus ask them to do more for me? Which one am I more motivated to act on: to praise or to criticize?
I hope to be able to keep these questions in mind as I sail forward into this new school year and not lose sight of the importance of regularly expressing gratitude, particularly to the teachers who are helping make my life easier by educating my child so that I can focus on work and other responsibilities; their services are invaluable and, without question, worthy of the time it takes to simply say “thank you.”
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