Teacher & Nurse Appreciation Week

This week is Teacher Appreciation Week, which in my classroom is just like the other 35 weeks of the school year. Either my students and their parents don't know that it is Teacher Appreciation Week or they don't care because every year it seems to go unnoticed in my classroom. Maybe that is because I teach middle school or maybe it's because I teach at an urban low socio-economic school with little parent support. The PTA at my school always does some nice stuff for us which is the only reason that I even notice that it's Teacher Appreciation Week, but essentially it is just another week of the school year. Then again, I feel like my colleagues and I are not in this profession for anything other than the fact that we love it. Let's face it, we never get the credit or appreciation that we deserve, our salary is a joke and we put up with the most insane nonsense that no human being in any other profession would ever tolerate.

It takes a very special type of person (a crazy one) to be a teacher. However, I can't imagine doing anything else with my life. Take a moment this week to say thank you to all the teachers in your life. Not a single person in the world could have ever made it where they are today without the help of teachers. You're welcome :) Here is a mildly inappropriate video about Teacher Appreciation that always makes me laugh...

 

In addition to Teacher Appreciation, this week is also Nurse Appreciation Week. I find it funny/mildly ironic that we have chosen to celebrate two professions that pretty much deal with crazy people on a daily basis in the same week. How convenient. These are also two professions where people constantly feel the need to tell us how to do our jobs. Like we are unqualified to do the job that we are certified to do. Now, I realize that there are bad teachers and bad nurses out there. Everyone has experienced them, but that doesn't mean that we are all like that. I can't stand when I see a parent or a student telling a teacher how to do their job, and I really can't stand it when I see a patient telling a nurse how to do their job. Do you have a teaching certificate? Did you graduate from nursing school? We are professionals too. We don't come in your office and tell you how to do your job.

Sorry for the angry rant. Point being...just because there is a week for appreciating the teachers and nurses in your life doesn't mean that society should continue to treat them like crap the rest of the year. It almost kind of seems like the professions that get "appreciation days/weeks" (teachers, nurses, administrative professionals, secretaries, etc) are the ones that our society doesn't choose to respect the other 51 weeks out of the year, so they feel sorry for us and decide to be nice to us for one week. I mean, have you ever heard of "Doctor Appreciation Week" or "Lawyer Appreciation Week"? Now, I realize that I chose my profession so if it really bothers me then I should stop complaining about it and go find a new profession, but guess what...my blog, so I get to complain all I want :) So at least be nice to the teachers and nurses in your life this week, then you can go back to complaining about us next week. 

To all my teacher and nurse friends out there...thank you for the job that you do. No one else would be able to do their job if it wasn't for you. You work harder than most other professions and most of the time your hard work goes unnoticed. You go out of your way to do things that you don't get paid for, that aren't even in your job description. You save lives on a daily basis...physically, mentally and emotionally. You have the most important jobs in our society. Imagine a world without teachers or nurses...it could not exist. Thank you for all that you do and have a great week.