The Network for Public Education recognizes Teacher Appreciation Week from May 4 to May 8. Teacher Appreciation Week is an annual tradition held every year at the beginning of May to celebrate the work of teachers on a national level and to shine a light on what they do every day for students.
In the past, teachers and communities have been able to celebrate in school buildings, and parent organizations were able to hold luncheons for teachers. But this year, celebrating is more difficult because teachers are teaching from their homes.
Executive Director of NPE Carol Burris says, “In the past we’ve sent them things like signed copies of books; however, because of the pandemic we really don’t want to put any of our employees at risk by going to the post office and wrapping and sending a book. This year we are acknowledging it with email only.”
Teachers are working harder than ever while going above and beyond to educate their students, and teaching remotely can be a challenge. An English and second language teacher at Francis Lewis High School, Arthur Goldstein says, “It sucks—it’s no substitute for classrooms. I can’t see what the students are doing, I can’t see if they’re doing the work, I can’t really get involved like I would like to, but it’s better than nothing.”
If Goldstein were in a classroom, he would be walking around looking at students’ work to offer suggestions and he would be more involved. He said challenges include not having much control, not being able to help students focus as much, and not being able to do the same activities as he would in a classroom.
A math teacher at Stuyvesant High School, Gary Rubinstein says, “It’s very difficult. You spend a lot of time making videos and lessons, but you don’t know if that’s actually causing some students to have extra pressure on them. It’s kind of hard that way, you don’t want to be adding to students’ pressure.”
All teachers are doing the best they can under these difficult circumstances. For teachers having difficulties, Goldstein says, “We have to reach out as much as we can, we have to try to find out why each student has whatever problems each student has.”
NPE is an advocacy organization that takes on the charter industry and other privatization schemes that they say are draining resources and attention from public schools. Many people give donations to NPE and those funds are used to fight for better public schools for our teachers and our students.
NPE has been encouraging donations through the end of Teacher Appreciation Week (May 8). In response to donations made in honor of specific teachers, the president of NPE, Diane Ravitch, will send an email to the teachers thanking them for their service, and letting them know who it was that thought about them and wanted to honor them. For more information, visit: https://networkforpubliceducation.org/teacher-appreciation-week-2020/