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national teacher day

In Case You Were Wondering What Educators Do On National Teacher Day…

It’s National Teacher Day. So, on this day, teachers will be teaching good nutrition.

And first aid.

And how to say, “Excuse me.”

We’ll diversify our curriculum and instruction to meet the personal and individual needs of all our students including the blind, the hearing impaired, the emotionally disturbed, the physically challenged, the cognitively disabled, the gifted and talented and the kids who don’t fit neatly into any of those categories but just need us to give them a hug and a little extra encouragement; we’ll make sure they’ve had their immunizations, make sure they understand disease control and how to cough into their sleeves and how to resist drugs, alcohol and tobacco; we’ll give career counseling, pregnancy counseling, mental health counseling and counseling to juvenile offenders; (more…)

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Kiss a Teacher Day

A teacher from Wisconsin was wearing a button that read: National Kick a Teacher Day.

I don’t know her. But I know what she’s saying.

For political reasons, it seems to me, some high profile politicians have decided to make public school teachers the scapegoat for a bad economy (caused by Wall Street tycoons that got to keep their bonus billions for causing a global financial meltdown, by the way).

But it doesn’t end there. One group concerned about low voter turnout blamed teachers for not instilling the importance of voting. People aren’t recycling enough because teachers didn’t stress it enough. (more…)

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National Teachers’ Day vs Pink Slip Week

May 4th is National Teacher Day.

This was always a cute week for me at Orchard Elementary in the suburbs of Salt Lake City, Utah. Moms (and, yes, there was once a Dad) would come in like little secret elves and decorate our doors for us. Kids would make us construction paper love notes with hearts and flowers and “Smartees” and Hershey’s Kisses candies hot-glued on so tight we’d end up eating hot glue as well as chocolate.

That was the year Angie wrote on my door, in her best curly-girl cursive, “To Mrs. Eskelsen, My Bust Teacher.

I walked proud for a week.

students in hallway

So, you will note the irony in the universe that this is the week that perhaps up to 250,000 teachers and vital support staff will be receiving pink slips telling them that due to the financial crisis, there is no money to pay them next year.
(more…)

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