Whether you are a teacher of quilting, sewing, or educating the youth of tomorrow, you are valued.
Today culminates the end of Teacher Appreciation Week. As a 40 year veteran as an elementary classroom teacher in our public school system, I celebrate with my fellow teachers. Though I retired this past December, my wonderful and rewarding career spanned 4 decades and touched the lives of thousands of young men and women. These children are now parents with little ones of their own and some are even grandparents. No other profession has the opportunity or the challenge to touch lives and make a difference than that of a teacher.
Part of my teaching expectations was to reach higher, exceed the normal job description, and go beyond. I believed that as a teacher and shared with my students that you know success because you have experienced failure, and you never should give up trying. To understand this concept, I would show them the many examples of the light bulb that Thomas Edison created before he found one that finally worked. Teaching means to try harder each day.
Collier County Golden Apple 1992
Yet in teaching you should celebrate the successes. No matter how small or large, when a student works hard and finally attains the goal, take time to celebrate. In teaching celebration comes after a long hard day when a student’s work finally shows understanding and you share this with a fellow colleague. Communities also share teacher’s successes. I had the honor of receiving a Golden Apple Award in 1992 for teacher excellence and the Macy Collier County Teacher of the Year Award in 2009. Both came from my willingness to go beyond and share my gift of teaching.
Congratulations to this year’s Collier County’s Golden Apple Teachers.
So if you teacher, whether it be in our schools today, classes on how to quilt, or teaching a friend how to sew, remember you too make a difference in someone’s life.
