Five Reasons why Teachers are so Important
It’s a great time of the year right now. The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming, and Summer’s on its way. With that in mind, another thing is looming that has equal shares of delight and dread: Summer Holidays.
For those without school age children, it might be difficult to imagine this weird concoction of emotions around the End of Term. The joy of having your children at home with you, able to spend days out and fun activities with them, and share in their day, is magical. On the other hand, dealing with the trials of childhood, constantly coming up with exciting things to do, and worrying how you’re going to juggle work and parenting could give anyone a headache!
When we’re in that headspace, it can be easy to grumble about teachers having six weeks off in July and August. And I totally get it, it’s not every job that gets to enjoy the freedom of no work right when the weather is at its peak.
But I think it’s important to remember what teachers actually do for us, and especially our children, both when they’re in school and when they aren’t. Here are a few reasons why we should be thanking our child’s teacher this Summer.
- A Teacher’s Day Doesn’t End With the School Bell
As you wait for your little one at the school gates, ready to give them a huge cuddle and listen as they talk about their day on the journey home, their teacher is probably doing something different. They will be returning to their classrooms to put everything away and prepare the room for tomorrow’s school day. They may have to attend meetings, fill out paperwork or meet with parents before they go home. And when they do get home, besides the usual stuff they have to do to keep the home running smoothly, there’s grading to be done and prep for future lessons. I can’t tell you the amount of times my school teacher friends have come round for a glass of wine with a bag of pipe cleaners and glue. A great evening of crafts for me, but not exactly a relaxing evening for them!
- A Teacher Makes All the Difference
Whether it’s English, Maths, World Book Day, or just a good old-fashioned cuddle for a child that needs it, a teacher is the guardian to your child for a huge chunk of their young life. We’ve all seen the video of Ian Wright meeting his teacher again (and if you haven’t, you need to, it’s on Youtube). I think most of us have a memory of a teacher like that somewhere along the line; someone who saw the best in us, guided us along the way and wasn’t afraid of letting you know when you’d messed up, but always helped you right yourself again. It takes a very special person to be able to do that.
- A Teacher Cares
We’re hearing a lot about teachers nowadays. A lot of people are having to leave education because of the strain, and a lot of teachers are struggling. The reason they stay is because they love what they do. The saying goes ‘it’s a hard job, but someone’s got to do it’, but I don’t think that’s quite right for teachers. I think it should change to ‘it’s a hard job, so you’ve really got to love it’.
- A Teacher is a Student
Depending on what sort of teacher you are, you need to have specialist knowledge of a particular subject. On top of that, you need to have the knowledge to be able to actually teach that knowledge to children. Just like we’ve all had a teacher that made a difference, most of us have had a teacher that loved their subject, but just couldn’t get it across to the class. Teachers are constantly working on their craft, looking for creative ways to pass knowledge on, and to create curious kids. Let alone the subject teachers, you also have Primary School teachers who teach across the board, and then substitute teachers!
- A Teacher Needs to Know They’re Appreciated
It’s in the little things: a student struggling with their spelling finally gets full marks on their test. Maybe an extremely shy child, with a teacher’s help, works up the courage to sit on the buddy bench. Or a usually disinterested kid gets really stuck into an art project, thanking their teacher for the chance to work on it as the school bell rings and they head home. While it’s not done for praise or accolades, sometimes a little nod to say that their hard work is appreciated will make all the difference to your child’s teacher this Summer.
Here at Ooh we have everything a teacher might need but also more of what they might want when it comes to end of term gifts.
If you are planning to say "Thank you teacher" and whether you want to gift a journal or a pamper box, we have it all.
If you want to club together with other parents to get something really special or are happy to go it alone, we have gifts from £20 up to £80. All our gifts come in our signature white box and wrapping so no matter your budget a giftbox from Ooh will be a real treat.
