Dear Teach/Love Teacher – Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

I know that you haven’t heard from me in quite some time. I am sorry for that. Know that I am still here and that you are still awesome! I haven’t given up on you and I haven’t given up on me. Time away was needed, but now I am back.

I know that it is summer (for my Northern Hemisphere teacher friends), but I also know that you are a great teacher. You are already thinking about next year. You have had a few weeks of a break and now you are thinking about the students that will be sitting in the desks that sit in your classroom. This is what makes you great.

You can’t stop your “teaching brain,” and this is a good thing.

The other night, I was playing Jenga with my son. We had some nice rounds of moving the blocks, but in the end the tower always tumbled.

When I looked at the pieces after one long match, it hit me that no matter how the game went it always ended but no matter how it ended we can always rebuild and start again.

Isn’t that the same with life?

No matter how things go, things always end. No matter how things end, we can always start again.

This applies even more so with teaching. Jenga is a pretty great analogy to our profession, if you think about it.

We start the year as a strong tower, ready to go. Through the year we go through times of being taken apart and put back together. In the end, no matter what, we feel like a puddle of bricks (in some way or another) ready for a reboot. We take the summer and rebuild so that we can start again.

Teacher, I don’t know how last year ended for you. I don’t know what kind of mess your bricks are in. I don’t know how worn your blocks are. But you can rebuild. You can start again. You will start again.

Take the rest of the summer and try to build your tower stronger. Relax. Reflect. Rebuild. Think about what went right and what went wrong. Look for what you could do better. Research a little. Read a lot. Find new ways to do the old stuff. Be a better tower…even if you know it will just be blocks and bricks at the end of the next year.

This is what you do. This is who you are. And you are AWESOME at it. Keep going and never give up!

Build, Teacher. Build.

Your are awesome! I totally believe in you! Have a great rest of the summer and build that tower better than ever! Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Today’s “best of” is made up of some of my favorite posts to write, and include some of my favorite all-time posts. Every once in a while we need to remember why we do what we do and get excited about it. We may be on the downside of the teaching roller coaster and a little boost of reminder is all it takes to be headed back up the hill. That is what these posts are about! They are supposed to remind you of the awesomeness of what you do so that you want to go out there and be awesome-er! Here is to being awesome-er!

Some of these are older and you may have definitely missed them. Check out as many as you can and let us all know your favorite (and why)!

Hopelessly Hopeful (one of the very first Dear Teacher/Love Teacher posts)
Fridays of More (what Fridays really mean for teachers most weeks)
Rock Star (this one is one of my top favorite posts, and it was an early one)
Friday of Awesomeness (another Friday pep talk…this one, too, is among my favorites)
Pick Your Pep Talk (a choose-your-own-adventure pep talk…this one was fun to write)
The Ripple Effect (how the little things we do spread out to others)
Quotable Quotes to End Your Week (pep talk from the words of others)
Small Steps the Make Big Differences (words to help you when the teacher mountain looks too big to climb)
Some [funny and inspiring] Thoughts on Teaching (the title says it all…there are more videos than words in this one)
I am a Teacher and a Fungi (a pep talk from a science lesson…learn something about fungus and be inspired at the same time!)
You Have What It Takes…to Innovate (the most recent pep talk, based on a post I read at Edutopia)

Well, I hope you are “pepped” after reading a few! Pick your favorite, tell us why it is your favorite, and then go and share the link to it! You can have more than one favorite, if you want. 🙂

You are awesome! Today is going to be a great day! You are going to have a great rest of the week! You are amazing and are making a difference for the future! Never forget that! Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

Repeat PS from 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!)