We have been acutely reminded of how much we need our educators. Once again, they have shown the world why teaching is a calling meant only for the chosen few.”
Patty Beckman, SUSD Governing Board vice president
By Patty Beckman
It is Teacher Appreciation Week, a week where the nation typically celebrates its teachers with many small gifts and gestures.
We thank our educators for their tireless efforts by which they help mold the students of today into the educated and productive community members of tomorrow.
As parents, we thought we knew how hard our teachers worked, how much they cared, how their job really never stopped and how they would often lie awake at night, worrying about other people’s children. We thought we knew, until now.
On March 16th of this year, Scottsdale Unified School District began distance learning. A total of 1,359 educators, many of whom had been teaching for decades, abruptly changed course and learned an entire new way to deliver content to our children.
The teacher had become the student and in five days SUSD was online.
It shouldn’t surprise any of us that our teachers adapted so quickly to a new method born from crisis. We educate in a world filled with school shootings, mental health challenges, socio economic diversity, underfunded public schools and much more.
Our teachers have become incredibly adept at walking into a classroom, physically or virtually, assessing need and helping ALL students reach their academic potential.
As a board member and a parent of two Saguaro High School students, I interact with our teachers in different ways. As a board member, I listen to our educators and consistently ask for feedback about how our current policies are supporting our classrooms.
As a parent, I am humbled by the level of caring and commitment to my children’s future I witness every day. It was just last week, well into online learning, a teacher e-mailed me about my daughter and said, “Tell Avery I am proud of her.”
Honestly, I was proud of this teacher. This small interaction was a reminder that in Scottsdale, we have the very best. The late-night e-mails, their presence at the school musicals, and the little handwritten notes on an assignment, all give us comfort knowing that we truly have partners helping us prepare our children for the future.
Teacher Appreciation Week is different this year. In fact, I don’t believe it will ever be the same.
We have been acutely reminded of how much we need our educators. Once again, they have shown the world why teaching is a calling meant only for the chosen few.
To all of our educators, thank you.
Every single lesson plan you write, e-mail you send, video you create, or word of praise you give matters.
YOU matter, and are indeed very much appreciated.
Editor’s Note: Patty Beckman serves as vice president of the Scottsdale Unified School District Governing Board.
