Alix Horton

Today, I’d like to thank you for the little things.  I think sometimes teachers receive appreciation for the big things- turning a student’s life around, for example, or inspiring a lifelong passion for science.  And those things are amazing.  But your daily lives are filled with so many little moments, so many tiny things you do each day- and I think those deserve our gratitude too.  Especially since your day is also filled with hurdles and challenges, and you do all those little things anyway.

To every teacher who honored a slightly oddball need to know as important and worthy of consideration- thank you.

To the teachers who have spent a really long time giving feedback on a project benchmark or a written assessment- thank you.

To the teachers who ate their yogurt in a colleague’s room to discuss a last minute project or curriculum question- thank you.

To every teacher who’s kept their own children waiting 10 minutes just to wrap up a parent conference- thank you.

To every teacher who has ever done ALL the field trip paperwork so your students could go on a field trip to a farm or a museum or maybe China- thank you.

To the teachers who’ve spent 45 minutes creating QR codes or a website or a detailed agenda so their first, or fifth, or eleventh grade charges could direct their own learning the next day- thank you.

To all the teachers who have done a quick Critical Friends/feedback session with a neighbor by the mailboxes after school- thank you.

To every teacher who’s hunted down a phlebotomist or talked to the mayor or found an executive at an ad company who’s willing to serve on a panel or launch a project- thank you.

To the teacher who’s included that extra bit of reflection time in the middle of a project so students can reflect on their collaboration or agency or oral communication skills- thank you.

To the teachers who have sat up in the middle of the night or stopped a conversation or paused the TV and said, “That would make a great project idea!”- thank you.

I’m so grateful for the endless series of little things that you do every day, hour, and minute to improve our students’ lives and make sure they are growing and learning the knowledge and essential skills they need to succeed.