Holodick: Teachers should be appreciated year-round
Dr. Mark Holodick is Delaware’s secretary of education.
Each May, during National Teacher Appreciation Week, Delaware takes a moment to honor and celebrate the incredible contributions of educators across the state. Businesses offer teacher specials. School administrations and parent teacher organizations provide lunches. Students and families show their thanks with notes or small gifts. Elected leaders recognize the profession. All aim to honor the profound impact educators have on shaping our students and their future. The truth is our teachers deserve a high level of appreciation all year long.
Teachers are our country’s quiet heroes, expanding young minds, inspiring creativity and instilling a love for learning. They dedicate countless hours to planning lessons, grading assignments and providing individualized support to their students. Their impact extends far beyond the walls of the classroom, too, influencing countless lives and families through nonacademic support. And teachers juggle all sorts of additional responsibilities, as well as supporting the safety and success of their school communities. Really, teacher appreciation should be the most consistent part of their professional lives.
For the first time this year, the White House hosted a state dinner for each state’s Teacher of the Year honorees. The White House state dinner is one of the most prestigious events in our country, usually reserved for visiting foreign leaders. 2024 Delaware Teacher of the Year Cory Hafer represented the First State at this special night. According to U.S. education secretary Miguel Cardona, the Biden administration honored our teachers “with a level of national respect that is long overdue.”
I agree. When teachers feel valued and respected, they are more likely to stay in the profession. They report increased job satisfaction and higher morale, and are more engaged in their work. One of the highlights for me each May is reading the notes families and colleagues send into the department to thank their educators. Please take a few moments to read these shoutouts on the department’s social media channels. You will read about Maya Guthrie, a teacher at Milford’s Lulu M. Ross Elementary School, whom one grandmother said “is the most compassionate and heartfelt teacher I’ve ever met.” You will hear about Caesar Rodney’s David E. Robinson Elementary School teachers Mr. Tappin and Miss Baker, who were thanked for helping a student new to the state: “You welcomed him and never gave up on him. You saw potential in him, and I’m forever grateful for what you guys do. I appreciate you.” And there are so many more.
Yearlong teacher appreciation does not need to be limited to grand gestures and formal events. I encourage us all to show appreciation for teachers throughout the year with such heartfelt thank-you notes, small tokens and kind words of encouragement. When we truly recognize the daily sacrifices and the passion that teachers bring to their work, and in the face of challenges, we continue to invest in our teachers, as well as the future of our students and our state.
Reader reactions, pro or con, are welcomed at civiltalk@iniusa.org.
