The Teacher Appreciation Week is a week-long celebration that aims to recognize all teachers especially their contributions on the society and education. It is held every first full week of May every year. The event gives an opportunity to all students, parents, and principals to show their appreciation to all teachers for all their hours of hard work. The upcoming Teacher Appreciation Week will be held from Monday, May 3, until Friday, May 7, .
put in. Many educators receive thank you gifts and notes of gratitude from their students during this week, and schools organize events and celebrations to mark the occasion.
About the Teacher Appreciation Week
During the Teacher Appreciation Week, people conduct various activities that let them achieve the objectives or purposes of this special day. Many teachers receive gifts, presents, and thank you letters from their students. Schools also organize various events to mark this one of a kind celebration. People also shout out on social media how they celebrate this important day.
History
In 1953, people in the USA started to celebrate the National Teacher Day. This happened after Eleanor Roosevelt convinces the Congress to allot a special day that would recognize teachers. The idea came to her mind after a Wisconsin teacher wrote a letter to Roosevelt. This teacher advocated for the recognition of the efforts of teachers in Arkansas.
On March 7, 1980, the National Education Association (NEA), together with its Indiana and Kansas state affiliates and the Dodge City, Kan. Local chapter, lobbied the congress for the start of this celebration. The celebration then proceeded every year until March 1984 when the National Parent Teacher Association designated the first full week of May as the Teacher Appreciation Week. The year after that, NEA decided to make the Tuesday of this week as the National Teacher Day.
According to NEA, the National Teacher Day is “a day of honoring teachers and recognizing the lasting contributions they make to our lives.” Students and parents typically show their appreciation for teachers by writing thank-you cards and sharing small treats and gifts.
Dates
As mentioned earlier, the Teacher Appreciation Week is always held on the first full week of May every year. This means that the dates of celebration for this event are as follows:
- Sunday, May 3, 2015 to Saturday, May 9, 2015
- Sunday, May 1, 2016 to Saturday, May 7, 2016
- Sunday, May 7, 2017 to Saturday, May 13, 2017
- Sunday, May 6, to Saturday, May 12,
- Sunday, May 5, to Saturday, May 11,
- Sunday, May 3, to Saturday, May 9,
- Sunday, May 2, to Saturday, May 8,
- Sunday, May 1, 2022 to Saturday, May 7, 2022
- Sunday, May 7, 2023 to Saturday, May 13, 2023
- Sunday, May 5, 2024 to Saturday, May 11, 2024
- Sunday, May 4, 2025 to Saturday, May 10, 2025
Why Celebrate
The following are the main reasons why you should participate in the celebration of the Teacher Appreciation Week:
To Thank Your Teachers
Every single day, our teacher work hard to teach us or our kids. But it is not every day that we get the opportunity to sincerely thank teachers and make them feel that they are highly recognized. Hence, to account for this, you must celebrate the Teacher Appreciation Week in order to conduct various activities that will allow you to express your gratitude to all teachers out there.
To Understand Teachers
The job of teachers is not only to teach our children various subjects. They also become the second parent to our children. Hence, we must understand what the job and responsibility of teachers are in order for us to appreciate them even more. To get this kind of understanding, you should celebrate the Teacher Appreciation Week.
To Know the Teachers Profession
At first, it might seem that the job of teachers is very straightforward – just to teach. But that is far from reality. The profession of teachers is far more complicated than that. To discover and learn more about that, you should celebrate the Teacher Appreciation Week.
Celebration Ideas and Activities
The following are the best things to do to make your celebration of the Teacher Appreciation Week as best as it can be:
Gift Giving
The first way to celebrate this day is to give teachers some gifts. Ideal gifts should be different for every teacher. Flowers, chocolates, jewelry and gift cards are all good basic gift ideas for teachers, but students and parents can personalize them to make these gifts more meaningful. A good personalized gift for a teacher could be as simple as a gift card to their favorite restaurant. You could also create jewelry or something else by hand that reminds you of your time in their classroom. While purchased gifts are nice, any teacher will tell you they appreciate handmade gifts on Teacher Appreciation Day.
Heartfelt Letters
Another good way to celebrate this day is to give your teachers heartfelt letters – those that you composed or wrote from the bottom of your heart. Express your gratitude to your teachers and let them know that you are thankful for all the lessons that they teach you – both academic lessons and those about life.
Letter from Parents
If your children have very good teachers, you should not let this celebration pass by without you showing your gratitude as well to their teachers. Perhaps you can compose a heartfelt letter expressing how grateful you are of your students’ teachers.
Celebrate on Social Media
You can also celebrate this day on social media. You can, for instance, use the hashtag #TeacherAppreciationWeek to let your friends and followers know that you are also participating in the celebration of this important day same as World Teacher Day
Facts
- Massachusetts recognizes Teachers’ Day on the first Sunday of June.
- In the United States, 3.7 million people work as elementary and secondary teachers in public schools. (Source: National Center for Education Statistics, 2012)
- About 45% of teachers leave the profession in their first five years. (Source: National Education Association)
- About 40% of people entering the profession in the United States are coming from other careers. (Source: National Education Association)
- UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) declared October 5 as World Teachers’ Day in 1994.
Gift Ideas
- Gift idea: A gift card to a local coffee shop.
- Pun for card: Thanks a latte for being such a great teacher!
- Gift idea: A batch of homemade cookies
- Pun for card: Thank you for making me one smart cookie!
- Gift idea: A box of donuts
- Pun for card: We donut know what we would do without your hard work.
- Gift idea: A gift card to the movie theater
- Pun for card: This year has been picture perfect thanks to you!
- Gift idea: A basket of bath bombs and shower gel
- Pun for card: You are a scent-sational teacher!
- Gift idea: A candle
- Pun for card: You light up the classroom!
- GIft idea: Pack of new highlighters for classroom
- Pun for card: Thank you for being the highlight of my child’s year!
- Gift idea: A gift card to a local nail salon
- Pun for card: Mani thanks for all your hard work!
- Gift idea: A mini succulent or flowers
- Pun for card: Thank you for helping me grow this year.
- Gift idea: A bottle of wine
- Pun for card: No one is wine-ing that we have you as our child’s teacher!
Messages
- Thank you for creating a fun and safe educational environment for my child!
- All the hard work you put in day after day doesn’t go unnoticed — thank you for everything.
- We’re so lucky that (child’s name) has you as a teacher!
- You have made such a positive impact on my child’s life and I can’t thank you enough.
- Not only are you a wonderful teacher, but you are also a wonderful role model for all of your students.
- For all the late nights, early mornings and weekends spent grading and preparing lessons — we thank you for caring so much about our children!
- There are not enough words to thank you for all that you do!
- You are an inspiration to all students who are lucky enough to call you their teacher.
- Thank you for pushing the children in your class to always be their best selves — you are helping them become wonderful young adults!
- It makes me so happy when my child comes home excited about the day they had at school — thank you for making those days so constant.
Quotes
- Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them.” – Lady Bird Johnson
- “The object of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.” – Robert M. Hutchins
- “The beautiful thing about learning is that no one can take it away from you.” – B.B. King
- “Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero to me.” – Fred Rogers (Mister Rogers)
- “Not all superheroes wear capes, some having teaching degrees.” – Unknown Author
- “One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings.” – Carl Jung
- “A good teacher is like a candle — it consumes itself to light the way for others.” – Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
- “A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning.” – Brad Henry Love
- “I am indebted to my father for living, but to my teacher for living well.” – Alexander the Great
- “One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.” – Malala Yousafzai
- “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm X
- “What a teacher writes on the blackboard of life can never be erased.” – Unknown Author
- “Teaching kids to count is fine, but teaching them what counts is best.” – Bob Talbert
- “Give me a fish and I eat for a day. Teach me to fish and I eat for a lifetime.” – Chinese Proverb
- “A teacher takes a hand, opens a mind, and touches a heart.” – Unknown Author
- “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” – John Dewey
- “Teaching is a very noble profession that shapes the character, caliber, and future of the individual. If the people remember me as a good teacher, that will be the biggest honor for me.” – A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
- “The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” – William Arthur Ward
- “Everyone who remembers his own education remembers teachers, not methods and techniques. The teacher is the heart of the educational system.” – Sidney Hook