Our Stellar Educator for the Holidays: YOU!

Name: You!

Years Teaching: Plenty of Years!

Specialty: Every specialty under the sun!

Congratulations to YOU, our Stellar Educator for the Holidays!

This has been a particularly challenging school year so far for teachers around the country.  The year started with more murmurings and condemnations of teachers as educators in Chicago and other districts tried to better the circumstances of their schools for their students.  Here at The Educator's Room, our most read article was "The Exhaustion of the American Teacher," read by tens of thousands of teachers because, we suspect, we're all exhausted.  Because of the economy, districts around the country are closing schools, laying off teachers and cutting back on services and resources for the teachers who are left with enormous class sizes and needy students.  And of course, we have all been rocked by the horrific tragedy of Sandy Hook Elementary.  Not just from the fear and grief that descends at the loss of 20 first graders and 6 educators, but also for the surviving students and teachers of that school who must continue on with their school year and the school years to come.   There are probably enough difficult circumstances to fill a small book for most teachers, just for this first semester.

So we thought that we would take a pause this holiday season, and as the New Year rolls around, to thank YOU for being a Stellar Educator.  You work with too little resources for too many hours, for too few words of thanks.  We think you are amazing, how you get to know and love your students, how you develop ways to reach them that go beyond the curriculum, and the way you put so much time and effort into going above and beyond for them.  We admire the way you put up with the bureaucracy of your school system in order to be able to provide the best education you can for your students.  We appreciate how much you have to give up - in money, time, and rest - in order to plan, grade and be there for your students. We applaud how you continue to learn and grow as a professional even as you face all these challenges.

So THANK YOU.  We want to continue to encourage and support you as you enter the second half of this school year.  We have lots of plans for how to do that, but let us know ways we can support YOU more completely. For now, please accept our praise and recognition during the holidays for all you do and all that you are as an educator.  You deserve all the kudos!

Do you know a Stellar Educator? If so, nominate them here for the New Year!   Every week a new educator is highlighted!