Posted in General Inspiration, Hope for Teachers, Note to Teachers, Thank You!

What You Deserve, Teacher…


Dear Teacher,

You do so much.  I don’t mean that as a meaningless platitude because it is Teacher Appreciation Week.  I mean that as someone who knows.  Someone who has and is living the life of a teacher.  You do so very much!

It is almost inconceivable how much that you do for your students, your students’ families, your coworkers, your administration, your family, your friends, and…sometimes, every once in a while, on the rare occasion…for yourself…though, that is seriously not as often as it should be.  You live and breathe for others.  And you do it because you have a heart for others, especially your students.

You do so much!

And there is not much that you get in return; at least not tangible things.  This is something you are okay with.  You are because you are doing what you do for something bigger.  You are working for the lives and future of your students…which is what matters most to you.

You do deserve more, though.

In all honesty, you do deserve more money for all that you do.  You deserve more respect from others.  You deserve more recognition for the extra miles that you go.  You deserve more freedom and autonomy within the system because you do know what you are doing most of the time.  With that, you deserve the trust that you can make good decisions for the sake of your students.  And the list could go on and on.

You are a great teacher and you deserve more than you get!  

You deserve more and you know it…but this is not what is important to you.  What is important is that you impact your students lives and help them become the amazing people that they can be one day.  This is what makes you awesome.  You know you deserve more, but that is not what drives you.  Your students drive you.  And this is one of the many reasons you deserve more.

We both know that the “more” may never come.  But there is one thing that I can offer you.  I can offer you a thank you.

Really, really, really, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you, Teacher.

I thank you for all that you do.  I thank you for the things that you do that you don’t have to.  I thank you for your heart.  Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use this picture if you link back to this blog.)
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use this picture if you link back to this blog.)

I thank you as a fellow teacher who you serve as an example for.  I thank you as a parent who has teachers that are like you and are influenced by you.  And I thank you as a citizen of the world because you really are making the future better.

Teacher, I can not give you all that you deserve, and for this I am sorry.  But I do promise to always try to thank you…even when it is not Teacher Appreciation Week.  A thank you is something you deserve every day!  I will do my best to try.

DearTeacherLT2016 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
DearTeacherLT2016 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)

You are an amazingly awesome teacher!  Thank you for teaching on even though you do not get everything you deserve!  You are making a difference and changing lives.  Keep going and keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

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Posted in General Inspiration, Hope for Teachers, Note to Teachers, Pep Talk, Perseverance, Picture Note, Poster/Graphic, Reason for Teaching, You Are Awesome!!!

Ordinary Teaching Makes Extraordinary Teachers


Dear Teacher,

I don’t know what kind of day you have had or week you are having, but I want to encourage you.  Keep doing those every day things that you do.  The every-day adds up.  It is the day-to-day that builds into your awesomeness.

(c)DearTeacherLT2014 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher) ... oh, and this was made using www.piktochart.com, check them out if you want to make cool infograpics!
(c)DearTeacherLT2014 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher) … oh, and this was made using http://www.piktochart.com, check them out if you want to make cool infograpics!

You don’t hear “thank you” enough.  So let me thank you.

Thank you, Teacher.  You do what needs to be done.  You are changing the future one day at a time.  You are awesome!  Never give up!  Keep on teaching and turning the ordinary into extraordinary!

Love, Teacher

Posted in General Inspiration, Hope for Teachers, Note from Student, Note to Teachers, Pep Talk, Perseverance, Picture Note, Poster/Graphic, Thank You!, You Are Awesome!!!

(Unspoken) Words from Your Students


Dear Teacher,

You are amazing.  You know that, right?  You give your students what they need before they need it.  Almost like magic!

You work hard.  You make choices for the best that students disagree with.  You are patient.  You are kind.  You are nice.  Even when you don’t feel like you can be.

You will seldom be thanked…especially by the toughest of students.

They will appreciate what you have done and are doing…one day.

They do not always have the words now to tell you.

So…this note is for you.  Here are the words (unspoken) that your students aren’t ready or can’t say yet.  They are still true.

Take them to heart.  Be encouraged.  Let a smile rise to your lips.  It is okay.  You can feel the pride.  You deserve it!

(c)DearTeacherLT2014 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher) ... oh, and this was made using www.piktochart.com, check them out if you want to make cool infograpics!
(c)DearTeacherLT2014 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher) … oh, and this was made using http://www.piktochart.com, check them out if you want to make cool infograpics!

Don’t give up!  Do all that you do and keep doing it well.  Keep on teaching, Teacher!  You are AWESOME!

Love, Teacher

PS…Pass this one one to a teacher that you know needs to hear this!  Also, please comment with a story about a time a student has been able to thank you for your hard work for them.  🙂

Posted in General Inspiration, Hope for Teachers, Note to Teachers, Thank You!, You Are Awesome!!!

From one teacher to another…


Dear Teacher,

You are awesome.  I know that I say this a lot, but that does not make it any less true.  I say you are awesome because you are awesome.  You need to hear it more often than you do, so I will keep saying it.

So.  You are awesome, Teacher!

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)

One of the reasons that you are awesome is because of the difference you make for others.  You change lives.  You make things better.  You put yourself on the line for the sake and betterment of those around you.

I am not talking about students this time.  I am not talking about their families.  I am not even talking about the community or society at large.

No, I am talking about us.  The teachers.  Those you work with.  Those that you meet.  Those that just hear about you.

You make a difference for other teachers.

You know what we do.  We watch each other.  We look and see what other teachers are doing, saying, and how they are acting and reacting.  The good and the bad, we watch to see it all.  We make choices based on what we see.  We change what we do based on what we observe.

You know the old saying, “Great teachers beg, borrow, and steal.”  Or something like that.  We all do it, in some way, shape, or form.  We look around to see what the other teachers are doing and make adjustments in ourselves.

From one teacher to another, thank you for being a teacher worth watching and modeling after!

I saw you, you made a note about something for your class based on what you saw or did on vacation.  Thank you!

You bought some supplies with money from your own pocket because your students needed it and it was on sale.  Thanks!

You went to a seminar and/or workshop while on summer break.  Thank you so much!

You made time for planning even though you are not “on the clock.”  Thanks, again!

You kept your teacher brain on even though school is not in session.  I needed to see that.  Thank you, thank you, thank you.

You do a thousand little things day by day, in school and out of school, all of the time that we all see.  These things make you a great teacher, and they are making all of us better teachers.

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use this picture if you link back to this blog.)
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use this picture if you link back to this blog.)

Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.  You are awesome, Teacher.  Education is better because of you!  Keep on doing what you do and keep on teaching!

Love, Teacher

Posted in General Inspiration, Teacher Testimony, Thank You!

Thank You Note (from another Teacher who was once a student)


(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use this picture if you link back to this blog.)
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use this picture if you link back to this blog.)

Dear Teacher,

Thank you.  I mean it.  Really.  Thank you!

As a former student, I thank you for the time you took to plan.  I thank you for the hours you put into your lessons, but also your willingness to let that time go when opportunities happened in the classroom for deeper learning and you scrapped your plans to teach where we, the students, were are the time.

Thank you for the time you took to set up your classroom.  Thank you for the posters and funny jokes about math.  Thank you for giving me something to look at in the moments of distraction that helped my mind get back to learning.  Thank you for the seating charts and seating changes that helped me learn better, even if I or other students fought them.

Thank you for the care you showed.  Day after day, I could never doubt that you cared about me.  Though I may not have loved your class, your subject, or thought you were cool, I did ALWAYS know that you cared about me.  That really did make me care about what you were trying to teach.  I definitely cannot deny it.

Thank you for going the extra mile for me.  Thank you for being a great teacher.  Thank you for trying new strategies.  Thank you for staying after school.  Thank you for quick turnaround in grading.  Thank you for…well…everything.

Thank you, Teacher!

Thank you.

I am a better teacher because I have your shoulders to stand on.  I am better for my students because you were a better teacher than I am.  But I am learning.  You set a high bar, but I hope to one day reach that goal.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Did I mention, “Thank you”?

We do not hear it enough, and because of that sometimes we lose focus.  We are affecting our students, though.  This was a heartfelt letter to teachers from my past.  We do make a difference.  We do.  Let us remember why we do what we do and put up with what we put up with.  It is for the students.  Who knows, you might be teaching the next great teacher!  Keep your focus and do what you know to do, and do it well.  You are awesome so I know that you will.

Keep on teaching, you amazing Teacher, you!

Love, Teacher

Apple Influence

Posted in Cheer Up, General Inspiration, Picture Note, Poster/Graphic, Thank You!

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!

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)

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?  🙂