While this aspect of their job is commonly overlooked, teachers play the essential role of helping students properly develop into mature, hardworking adults. Teachers are more than just people who stand in front of a class. At places like Choate, they are heavily involved in their students’ lives. Teachers help us deal with both academic and personal problems and, in many cases, are parental figures in our lives. Despite the significant role teachers play in our everyday life, they often do not receive proper recognition.
Although rewarding, being a teacher is a very stressful and difficult job. They are required to run an efficient and successful class by making sure students understand the material that is being taught, as well as fairly assess and give feedback to students. At Choate, teachers are given even more responsibility with having to supervise students as well as being there for students’ physical and mental support. Many Choate teachers also participate in coaching sports, which can add another level of time commitment.
What many students at Choate and other schools forget is that in most cases, teachers have a family that depends on them as well. Many teachers have spouses and kids that rely on them financially and emotionally. Teachers are faced with the challenge of having to balance their demanding work life with their domestic role as a wife, husband, father, or mother. For such a demanding job that teachers perform, they are often left without a lot of gratitude. This is not to say that Choate students do not respect and acknowledge their teachers, but the School tends to forget that teachers are just as busy and stressed as students.
Many schools have a designated week that emphasizes teacher appreciation,but evidently, students tend to only genuinely care about showing gratitude to their teachers in that given week. Instead, students should show their appreciation for their teachers each and every day. Although students do appreciate their teachers, they generally do not show it. Taking that extra step to show recognition for the impact that teachers have in their students’ lives goes a long way. Students could purchase a small gift for their teachers, but simply taking the time to have a personal conversation with them can be even more effective. Students may be reluctant to do this because they may not want to busy or annoy their teachers, but in reality, teachers will really appreciate a student’s acknowledgement.
Moving forward, students graduating from high school should take the time to look back on their careers and remember the teachers that helped them be the successful and well-rounded people that they became. Teachers encounter hundreds of students in their careers, and they do their best to make sure that they impact each of them for the better.
As students, we may not always agree with our teachers’ decisions. They may give too much homework or too many hard assessments, and they may not always grade tests and papers as soon as students would like them to, but just remember that teachers have a life outside of school. They may have personal problems with their families, they may just be going through a hard time, or they may simply be too busy. Although it is hard to realize this as students, it is essential that we take the time to show a little gratitude to our teachers. By taking only one minute every day to have a personal conversation with a teacher about something besides school, students can have a tremendous impact on the lives of teachers who work tirelessly for the betterment of their students.
