A Week To Honor Teachers

May 6, 2015 | Communication, Employee Recognition, Leadership, Trust

Photo by Joanne Johnson on Flickr

This week, we honor everyone that has accepted the profession/vocation/calling of being a teacher. We all probably had a teacher who made a profound effect on our lives….hopefully mostly positive effects. I was fortunate enough to have teachers such as Annette Freeman, Bill Munn, Sharon Bailey, Terry Lakes, Alan Erwin, Mike Buck, and David Tippey who not only held me accountable to the classroom work but also held me accountable to being a good citizen. This, I believe only spoke to the fact that they saw teaching as more than just a profession but also a higher calling. I hope reading this stirs memories about some teachers who had a positive influence on your lives.

Today, teachers have more non-instructional responsibilities than ever. They are expected to prepare students for standardized testing which in my opinion does not always indicate what is learned by the student. They act as social workers when their students are in a tough situation outside of school. They are expected to be teach good behavior when parents fail to do so at home. I have come to the conclusion that the desire to teach must be a higher calling. Few who perform the job well would do so for just a paycheck.

Because of these changing times, teachers need good leaders to help them now more than ever. We encourage principals and administrators to round on their teachers and staff informally daily and formally every quarter. We encourage them to recognize them regularly for their accomplishments whether it be in the form of handwritten thank you notes or presenting them with an award at an all school forum. We also encourage them to create an environment where trust between both parties is present.

As in any organization, trust is not given because of someone’s title. Trust is earned, and it can be earned by trusting others, being transparent, and seeking first to understand opposed to being understood. Our job as leaders is to position our team to achieve the best possible results and this cannot be accomplished if there is not mutual trust between the leader and team members.

In closing, we want to thank all teachers who sacrifice their time and talent daily to educate and mold our next generation of citizens.

Students, what teacher had a positive affect on your life?

Teachers, what is the most rewarding part of your chosen vocation?

English Teachers, how’s my punctuation and grammar. I’m hopin’ that it ain’t too bad.  😉

Comments

Alan Erwin

May 7, 2015 at 10:28 pm

Thank you, Rich. It is good to know that a person with your strengths recognizes that teachers, and others, pour our lives into children and youth, and often with little or no “thanks”. May God continue to bless you and the ministry that He has laid out for you.

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