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No question, our teachers are heroes. During two years of pandemic disruption they’ve cycled through teaching remotely, teaching in person, and teaching both ways simultaneously.  

“Over the last two years, one of the biggest changes has been how often we have an update that changes things,” says Ann Collins, who serves as the principal of the Hugh Gregg Elementary School in the Corning-Painted Post, NY Area School District. 

National studies indicate that teachers are feeling the stress. 

“I do believe, that behind the scenes, it takes a huge toll. I think that there is a level of–I don’t know–exhaustion, I suppose. But I don’t believe it’s detrimental to the work that they do with children because they continue to find their joy in teaching children,” she says.   

We don’t have to have children in school to show appreciation for what teachers have been doing. And there’s no reason to wait until the PTA-sponsored Teacher Appreciation Week in May.   

“We don’t need a parade. We don’t need those,” Principal Collins says. “But certainly some acknowledgment that they serve a very big role in our community, and that it has been challenging.” 

It turns out that a simple note of thanks now could encourage a teacher for years to come. That’s because many teachers save those notes.  

“We pull them out. There are days that you need to remember you made a difference in somebody’s life,” she says. “You have them, and you have a career’s worth of them, but right now they are incredibly valuable, and they keep us going. I feel like they bridge us to what hopefully will be like a ‘normal’ that will come again someday.” 

Listen to my full conversation with Principal Ann Collins in this 10-minute Inside Out podcast.