American Education Week is annually celebrated the week before Thanksgiving. This is a holiday to celebrate teachers and their hard work. Staff, students, and family members support teachers by giving them gifts of appreciation.
“It is important to recognize American Education Week because of the importance educators bring to our daily lives,” Mrs. McMillian expresses. “Collectively, we all feel we’ve had a positive experience from at least one educator in our lives and it’s important to remember and recognize that.”
Recognizing this impact, schools across the district are using American Education Week to highlight the work happening both inside and outside the classroom. McMillian’s emphasis on appreciation reflects a more broad effort this week to honor the dedication of teachers, staff, and support workers.
“Honoring our teachers is important because without teachers, there would be nothing else,” Mrs. Pisciotta explains. “We’d have no doctors, no lawyers, no president, nothing else. It all comes from a teacher.”
Teachers have learned from teachers since the beginning of schooling times. American Education week is a great time to represent the appreciation for teachers. It is always important to show teachers how much they mean to the students, but during this week, it is extra important.
Pisciotta says, “Before I was a teacher, when I had kids in school, I always sent gifts for my kids’ teachers. And now I just enjoy the gifts the people bring me.”
Pisciotta always appreciates the gifts she receives as she once honored her children’s teacher in such ways. Parents, students and community members have always been very kind and considerate towards teachers
“Here at SRHS, it was the daily gifts we got sponsored by all the different community, club, and committee members,” states McMillian. “Just knowing they thought about educators enough to plan in advance was a kindness in itself.”
Teachers always appreciate the gifts, even if it’s something small. The thought is what counts when it comes to teacher appreciation gifts.
“Mr. Stahlke, he actually was one of my mentor teachers when I did my student teaching,” Pisciotta states. “I’m older than him, but he’s older as a licensed teacher than me.”
Teachers have helped each other grow in so many more ways than imaginable. Just like Stahlke was for Pisciotta, many other teachers have helped, encouraged and taught current teachers. The cycle will continue to go on because having a good mentor teacher is always a huge stepping stone for teachers.
