A Teacher’s Thanks

Thanksgiving has come and gone. I wish we could have had a few more days, goodness knows we all could have used them, but I am happy to get back to my students. I have missed them. Life has been a tad quiet without them. We are coming to the end of the year and for some of us, it is a midway point and for others, we are at the end of our semester and will get a fresh batch of students in the spring. This time of year it is challenging no matter what subject you teach or what grade level. We are tired. I thought about my life on Thanksgiving Day and I realized I have so much to be thankful for. Sometimes we need a little reminder why we do what we do so this is what I am thankful for as a teacher.

I am thankful for…
1. My amazing co-workers that make me laugh and support me in ways no one could ever understand. My amazing co-workers that make me laugh and support me in ways no one could ever understand. Click To Tweet
2. My students for challenging me to teach them and making our victories even sweeter.
3. An excuse to wear tacky holiday sweaters.
4. All the holiday junk food that will be placed in the teacher’s lounge.
5. My students popping by on my prep period and telling me they miss my class.
6. Funny notes and drawings that students leave on my desk.
7. Black Friday deals at the arts and crafts store so I can get supplies for my classroom.
8. My December calendar going up and two weeks of it being off days.
9. Teaching The Great Gatsby during these last weeks.
10. Having a career I not only love, but is safe from the economic downturn.
11. Aha! Moments and when students see things that I didn’t even notice in a work of literature.
12. That after nine years, I still “geek” out over Emerson, Thoreau, and Whitman.
13. Life events that connect to my lessons and make my job relevant and even more important. Life events that connect to my lessons and make my job relevant and even more important. Click To Tweet
14. Literature, Writing, and Teacher Memes that crack me up.
15. Holiday food drives that help my students, the ones that need them and the ones that learn to give back.
16. New markers.
17. A classroom Elf on the Shelf, even for my juniors.
18. Developing a genuine friendship with former students and having coffee with them when they come home from college.
19. Seeing former students becoming teachers.
20. For Starbucks peppermint mocha so I can wake up at 5 in the morning.
21. For the bite in the air that reminds me of fresh starts.

For romantic evenings by the fire, just me and my stack of papers. Click To Tweet
22. For romantic evenings by the fire, just me and my stack of papers.
23. For crafts my 1st grader brings back from his classroom.
24. For my spouse who helps make “holiday gift bags” for 16 year olds.
25. For The Educators Room for allowing me to write what I feel, no matter what.
As the nights grow longer, remember we have so much to be thankful for, though it may not seem like it. I encourage you to make a list of things you are thankful for and hang it where you can see it. When you are having a rough day, look at that list and remind yourself why you do what you do. Be thankful, be positive, and be the teacher you wanted as a student. Click To Tweet