Guest Author - Kelli Deister

May 7 - 13, 2006, is Teacher Appreciation Week. It is a time to honor those that sacrificially teach our youth. I do not use the word, sacrificially, in a loose manner, but out of respect. Our teachers work very diligently in lesson preparation, planning, and utilization. Their jobs are not such that they clock in and out on a strict schedule. On the contrary, our teachers spend countless hours in lesson preparation and planning, before even thinking of presenting the lesson to their students. It is not unusual for a teacher to begin work at 7 AM and end during the wee hours of the night. They are not paid on an hourly basis, but on a salary. This means that all extra time spent in lesson preparation is strictly on their own time. Yet, thousands of teachers do this on a daily basis with little or no recognition.

The job becomes even more delicate for those that teach the Deaf. I say this because anyone who teaches the Deaf, whether they are hearing or Deaf, can appreciate the work that is put into lesson preparation. I experienced this personally one year ago. I was responsible, at times, to teach English and grammar to the Deaf students. I left that position with an extreme amount of respect for these teachers. You see, they must first prepare the lesson by taking the lesson plan and teaching it in American Sign Language, which is grammatically and structurally different that English. Yet, although they teach English in ASL, they must still teach the proper etiquette of English. Essentially, they are preparing the lesson in two different forms. This can be quite difficult for some, since they must teach using ASL, but assure that their students are understanding the English language in its entirety.

Another area of sacrifice that the teacher’s frequently do is with the use of their personal funds for school supplies. From the beginning of the school year, until it’s closing, teachers across the United States dip into their own pocket to pay for much needed school supplies and educational tools. There are many teachers that will purchase extra school supplies before the start of the school year, in order to prevent any child in their classroom from lacking supplies. There are also many that continually purchase the supplies for their students, in order to effectively teach the lesson at hand. They also do this with little to no recognition.

Lastly, teachers in this day and age must now be keenly aware of dangerous behaviors and attitudes. We live in a time when students are bringing guns to school and killing both students and teachers. There are also gangs that are prevalent and fights are often handled both on and off school grounds. Many schools in our country have taken the precaution of either hiring security guards or installing metal detectors. Those that teach our youth must be adequately trained on dissipating these dangerous behaviors and actions. Our child's teachers are responsible for assuring the safety of all students in their classroom.

Please take the time to honor your children’s teacher during this week. I recommend taking your youngster shopping and allowing them to pick out a gift for their teacher. It’s just not the same when the parent does it. One way of teaching your child how to respect their teacher, is to allow them to search for that perfect gift. Another means of supporting our teachers is to purchase extra school supplies. You can also purchase a gift certificate to a specialized educational store, so that the teacher doesn’t have to spend their own money. Lastly, bake them some goodies, such as cupcakes, cookies etc., that they can share with the class and celebrate this special time. Our teachers deserve special recognition.