Going the Extra Mile
Compassion. Understanding. Sense of humour. Those are good character traits for anyone to have, but they are especially important for teachers.
The P.E.I. Home and School Federation celebrated its 65th anniversary during Teacher Appreciation Week by presenting six teachers with Extra Mile Awards.
Those teachers stand out among their peers and in the eyes of their students. They make a positive difference.
And, of course, there are many teachers who are making a difference. Sometimes, though their efforts and accomplishments are not immediately recognized. It could be a few years after graduation before a student will realize the teacher who insisted on more effort recognized the student’s potential and found the means to help him excel.
Today’s students need teachers who will challenge them, encourage them and to motivate them to be better students and citizens.
The greater the number of teachers who go the extra mile, the better off our students, and potentially our world, will be.
We need more welders, doctors, farmers, fishermen, clergy, scientists, bankers and teachers. We need trained and skilled people in all professions. The choice of profession is up to the individual, but enthusiastic teachers can help students find the field that’s right for them.
Teachers need that encouragement, too. There are so many distractions and discipline issues in today’s classroom.
To be really successful in their profession, teachers need the support and the backing of administration and of the parents of the children they teach. That includes knowing the teachers, being aware of, and supporting, the teachers’ expectations for their children and insuring that homework and assignments are completed to the best of the students’ ability. A “C” is good enough if that is the best a student can achieve in a particular course, but a “B” is not good enough when a little more effort could have produced an “A”.
The chocolates and apples and meals delivered to schools during Teacher and Staff Appreciation Week were surely enjoyed, but it could be five, 10 years down the road when a teacher sees the full value of his or her contribution. That will come when some former student says thank you for being there, for being that inspiration.
Teachers might not have the respect and the appreciation of all their students all of the time, but, out of the blue someday, the value of their contribution to education will be rewarded in coming face to face with a former student who achieved great things because their teacher cared.