During the pandemic, teachers have showed their agility to turn on a dime.
By Katy Anthes, Colorado Commissioner of Education | May 4, 2020
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If there is one teeny-tiny silver lining to this global pandemic, it’s that more parents and community members have come to understand and appreciate the magnitude of what our teachers do to support students every day.
With schools closed to normal, in-person learning, I am seeing an outpouring of support on Twitter and Facebook for the work teachers do, and I think it’s especially fitting that this week is national Teacher Appreciation Week.
My favorite tweet might be this one: “Move your foot away from your brother’s cereal bowl or I will find a school in this country that is open and drive us there today.” And that was during one of our very first stay-at home weeks!
Teachers provide students with so much more than academic instruction. They help teach our kids responsibility, teamwork, kindness, respect and problem solving. They support students through the rough times and work hard to keep them engaged and excited about learning.
And during the pandemic, teachers have showed their agility to turn on a dime. They learned new technologies and evolved their lessons for remote learning with just a few days’ notice. They solved problems, were creative and made things happen -- and through it all, they are supporting each other and supporting their students.
I had a chance to talk with my Teacher’s Cabinet in April, and I spent a large part of the meeting holding back tears as they shared their challenges, their heartbreaks and their successes. While they are worried sick about students who aren’t engaging, they’re also elated when students who have struggled at normal school never miss an online lesson.
Many of their stories were quantified through a needs analysis we did with help from the Colorado Education Initiative, which showed that supporting students who are under extreme stress is the No. 1 need of our schools. The information we gathered from that survey will help us target government and philanthropic resources to help teachers throughout Colorado do their jobs and support our most vulnerable students.
Please take a few minutes this week to share your appreciation for teachers with a post on social media thanking a teacher. Use the hashtag #ThankATeacherCO. You can also download, customize and print your own #ThankATeacherCO sign.
I’ll leave you with sage advice to other teachers from one of our teacher cabinet members, Andrew Guinn, an eighth-grade math teacher at Pagosa Springs Middle School.
“When we look back on this time, students are not going to remember the small details of our virtual lessons,” Guinn said. “Nobody is going to ask them what grade they got in eighth grade math when COVID shut down the world. We will not be judged by how rigorous our online assignments were. What our students will remember is the grace, support, and love that we showed them in this time of crisis.
“Start with those three things -- grace, love, and support. For your students. And for yourself. Everything else will sort itself out like a half-finished lesson plan at 7:58 on a Monday morning.”
I’m overwhelmed with gratitude for all educators. Their dedication and leadership are helping our students, families and our entire communities make it through this unreal experience. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!