This post was contributed by a WeAreTeachers community member who wishes to remain anonymous.
The last time Teacher Appreciation Week felt genuine to me was in 2020. That spring, we were heroes. Remember?
Now, teachers are leaving the classroom in record numbers.
Many schools and districts are silencing their teachers, like this one in Southlake, Texas who asked their teachers to sign non-disparagement agreements (Note: this is the same district in which an administrator advised teachers to balance books about the Holocaust with âopposing perspectivesâ.)
Parentsâfueled by a wide range of fearsâare losing it.
School board meetings have turned childish, heated, and in some cases, violent.
Forgive me if this Teacher Appreciation Week feels⊠off.
Please donât misunderstand me. Iâm grateful to feel valued. Whether itâs a thoughtful note or a teacher discount, Iâm touched when a student or parent or community member extends their thanks. But remember that itâs possible to hold two thoughts at once. I can feel gratitude for parent and community support this week and, at the same time, feel like Iâm watching our nationâs most honorable institution crumble. When you and every teacher you know are struggling to make it through the toughest school year you can remember and youâre not allowed to speak about it, Teacher Appreciation Week feels a bit like paramedics showing up with a bouquet of flowers when youâve been disemboweled.
We are bleeding out.
What I have to remind myself to make it through this school year is that, according to a 2021 Gallup poll, 73% of parents of school-age children are happy with the education their child is receiving. The people creating and maintaining this mess are a small percentage of unhappy parents or people who manage to have strong opinions about public schools while not actually being connected to them (impressive, by the way).
Most of our community members are not demonizing teachers.
Most of our community members are not threatening school board members.
Most of our community members are not so fragile to have their moral foundations shaken by the existence of books in libraries.
But that wonât matter if most of them stay silent.
This Teacher Appreciation Week, ask the people in your life to show up and speak up.
If you care about teachers, show up to your next school board meeting and say so. Show up and speak up at PTA meetings. Engage with your friends and loved ones when you hear them disparage teachers or spread misinformation. Organize and be a voice for us when weâre not allowed to speak for ourselves. (I canât even publish this piece under my real name.)
But most importantly, vote at every levelâfrom school boards to the presidencyâfor leaders whose visions about school put teachers at the center of conversations on how to improve school.
This is how you support us.
And if youâre one of the people vilifying teachers on social media, the school board, from the pulpit of your church, or under the false banner of âadvocacyâ for students, donât bother showing up with a decorative mug this week. I have plenty.
Weâd love to hear your thoughtsâwhat do you think of Teacher Appreciation Week this year? Please share in the comments.
Plus, for more articles like this, be sure to subscribe to our newsletters.
