Dear Teacher,
I think the notes say it all. You are awesome! Keep going, keep going, keep going! Keep on teaching, Teacher!
Love, Teacher
Category: Picture Note
Well Done!
Dear Teacher,
Same message as yesterday and last weekend…don’t forget to see the good and positive along with the “needs work” areas as you reflect on the week. You had some awesome in you this week and do did your students. Don’t forget to celebrate and take a little bow. You deserve to and have earned it! You rock because you are awesome! Keep on teaching, Teacher!
Share this encouragement with another teacher. He or she deserves it, too!
Love, Teacher
The Long, Hard Road
Dear Teacher,
Two words: Keep going!
It is Wednesday. Keep going.
You are feeling burned out. Keep going.
You don’t feel supported. Keep going.
You are lost in your content. Keep going.
You have too much to do. Keep going.
You have some difficult students. Keep going.
You have things going on at home. Keep going.
You have issues at your school. Keep going.
You are not getting along with coworkers. Keep going.
You are tired. Keep going.
You are beat up. Keep going.
You are hurt. Keep going.
You are emotionally spent. Keep going.
You are out of ideas. Keep going.
You have too many students to get to each one every day. Keep going.
You want to give up. Keep going.
Keep going.
Keep going.
Keep going.
Your students are so close to breakthroughs. Keep going!
Your students look to you as their only hope in the day. Keep going!
Your students need your consistency. Keep going!
Your students are learning to learn on their own. Keep going!
Your students are having more and more “aha” moments every day. Keep going!
Your students are figure things out. Keep going!
Your students are learning. Keep going!
You are who they need and need you to be. Keep going!
Keep going!
Keep going!
Keep going!
The road is long. The road is hard. Keep going.
There are thorns. There are rocks. There are hills. There are mountains. Keep going.
The end is far and your strength is almost gone. Keep going.
You will make it. You can get there. Keep going!
Teacher, don’t give up.
Keep going!
You are awesome. You can do this. Don’t stop. Don’t give up. Keep on teaching, Teacher, and keep going!
Love, Teacher
Take a Bow…You Rocked!
Road to Awesome
Letter from the World (that you may never get)
Dear Teacher,
I know that we all struggle through the tough patches of working in a somewhat thankless career. More than that, we are often scrutinized and demeaned by people who just don’t understand what we do. That can be hard, but we take it in stride and keep pressing on, even if no one notices. That is what makes us awesome. That is what makes you awesome!
I have put words to the unspoken thanks of students in the past, but I thought this morning I might give words to the unspoken thanks to someone else. I know this letter will probably never happen, but I am sure that there are those out there who definitely feel this way. So here is a letter to us from the world at-large.
Know that it is all true, even if we seldom hear it. Read it, smile, and know you are awesome. Share it with other teachers and lets get this Encouragement Revolution kicked into high gear today!
You are awesome. You are amazing. You are making a difference, even if it is only in the background where very few see it. You are making the future, and the world thanks you! I thank you! Thank you, Teacher! Keep on teaching!
Love, Teacher
PS…I know I keep talking about it, but I am so excited about these posters and how they can motivate students (intrinsically) to keep moving and pressing on! The Motivational ABCs Poster/Word Wall are available in the Dear Teacher/Love Teacher TeachersPayTeachers Store…check it out, if you haven’t had the chance! The image in this post is one of the printable posters in the set. Oh, and the posters are on a deep discount sale this week! You have $2 to motivate students, don’t you? 🙂
Monday Morning Message…Light and Shade
Good morning, Teacher!
I have been under the weather a bit over the last week, and it caught up to me a bit this weekend and I am dragging this morning. I just couldn’t find a song for the weekly theme song! I knew what I was looking for, but I just couldn’t find it. I am really sorry! I will try again this afternoon because I am out of time this morning.
I thought I would share this graphic/poster with you in the meantime. As teachers, sometimes it is our job to be the light to students. We need to show them the way to learn, think, and do this all on the own. This can be hard because we are fighting their want to have things thought out for them and handed to them. It can be a grueling job and quite tiring! It can be a constant battle with some students and then a constant river of encouragement for others….and then everything else in between for the rest. It is mentally exhausting to do all of this and to constantly be aware of what students need.
This there is the flip-side. Sometimes we are not the light to students. Sometimes we are the shade. We do not always know what our students’ lives are like outside of our classrooms. We do not know their struggles, hurts, and trials of everyday existence. There is scorching heat that comes from life…like the noonday sun in the desert. It is hard to keep going sometimes. We all need a “shady place” when life is hard…especially our students. Sometimes it is our job to be this shade. What this looks like is different from person to person and student to student, but it is a real need. We need to recognize when to be this shade and find a way to be it.
It is a difficult part of being a teacher to know what what our students need and to try to play the role that fills a need…but it is a part of who we are. Let’s look for times today when we need to be light and when we need to be shade…and then let’s be what our students need!
You are awesome and amazing, as always. I know you know when to be light and when to be shade. I know you have the strength to be both. Do it well today. Cast light and give cover. You can do it. You are making a huge difference. Never forget it! Keep on teaching, Teacher!
Love, Teacher!
PS…Tomorrow is the last day to enter the Pinterest Contest!
Needed Friday Message
Dear Teacher.
Something tells me that you need this message as much as I do. Have a great weekend! Get some rest and take a break…you deserve it! You do amazing work!
You are awesome! Keep on teaching, Teacher!
Love, Teacher
Teaching Truth – Seeds
Dear Teacher,
How about a Teacher Truth for your Tuesday? Here is a little reminder about who you are and what you do as a teacher. You are amazing! You are awesome! You are making a difference and you are changing the future! Keep on teaching, Teacher! Don’t forget to be brave, too!
Love, Teacher
PS…Don’t forget about the Pinterest contest that ends next week!
The Best of the Picture Notes
Dear Teacher,
Today’s “Greatest Hits” are messages that I have enjoyed creating for us. I say us, because sometimes I go back and look at them/read them for encouragement and inspiration, too. I started making the picture notes as a way to send a second message at the end of each day near the end of the school year. I know now that I can’t sustain two posts a day, so the picture messages are weaved into the daily messages.
What has been so much fun is finding new ways to make them. The phrase “There’s an app for that” has never been truer for something! I have found online and tablet apps that let me make fun picture messages to brighten our day or to encourage us.
Because I have started to write a little message along with the picture notes, I have decided to break the “best of” into two lists. Picture notes with no extra message and picture notes with extra messages. Check out as many as you have time for and enjoy!
Just a Picture Message
- An Apple for You Because You Are Awesome! (the first picture message)
- A Quick Note at the End of the Day (first hand-written note)
- Week’s End Note (this was the first “outside of the box” hand written note…really fun to make…gave the post-its to a teacher at my school and she still has it!)
- Day’s End Encouragement (the Playdoh note…the picture at the top of the post…really fun to make…my son helped me!)
- The Empty Cup (one of the most popular picture notes, and my favorite)
- Downhill From Here (really fun to make, too)
- Day’s End Encouragement Note (another of my favorites, I put this picture on the post yesterday)
- Desktop Time Machine (another of my favorites)
- One of the many reasons you are AWESOME… (fun to make)
- Encouragement for the tough days… (I like this one!)
- Day’s End Poem (a poem for you)
- Friday Freedom…Go home, Teacher! (another fun one to make and one of my favorites)
- The Writing’s on the Board (yep, this was fun to make, too)
- Scraps of Teacher Love (popular one and I loved making this one)
- The Thank You Note You May Never Get (this is one of the most popular posts, in the top three)
- How Are You Awesome? Let Me Count The Ways… (the last one in my classroom for the year)
- A Personal Note to You, Teacher (a letter I wrote to you)
- Always a Brighter Tomorrow (after my hiatus)
- Wake of Awesome (this is probably in my top five…I have linked to it in posts a lot)
- Teacher Superpowers – Super Vision (I really loved making this one!)
- As You Face a New Week, Remember… (using a popular internet meme)
- Yeeeaaah Buoy! (another one in my top five)
- Teach with Ferocity (lesson from a lion)
- The Sky is Not Your Limit (the most recent without an extra message)
Picture Note with Extra Message
- New Day/New Week (the first picture note with an extra message)
- Big Like New York (New York as a metaphor)
- Teacher Superpower – Differentiation Control (pancakes and differentiation)
- Apple Influence (Apples and your Influence)
- Creativity and Cap’n Hook (lessons from Captain Hook)
Which ones are your favorites? Why? Why don’t you go share some of the links? 🙂
You are awesome! I hope you are having a great week! You are making a difference! Keep being awesome and keep on teaching, Teacher!
Love, Teacher
Repeat PS from Monday and yesterday…I have an idea. I want to compile stories about teachers who have made a difference in peoples’ lives. It can be a story or a “Dear Teacher ___________” thank you letter. I want to share them on here and maybe in a couple of other ways (possibly a book). If you are interested, email dearteacher@outlook.com and put “Teacher Story” or “Teacher Thank You Letter” in the subject. Thanks. I am excited about this project! (I will post more details about this soon, but please send your story/letter if you can!)
Dear Teacher/Love Teacher 