World Teachers’ Day (convened by UNICEF, Education International, and the International Labour Organization) is coming up on October 5, and teachers are working incredibly hard, as usual. You’re probably working very hard, too, so I’m going to suggest a quick and easy way to thank your kids’ teachers–buy them a book! Cute handmade gifts are lovely, but there’s only so much shelf space, y’know? If you give a teacher a book for their classroom, your fabulous gift will spread and touch many lives.
Here’s a poem from my poetry book for teachers. Teachers try to give your kids the world every day at school. And I hope you know that if you don’t have the funds for a book, a heartfelt note of thanks will be so much appreciated by any teacher, too!
[My Classroom Connections posts share a way to connect one of my books or poems to a classroom topic–often something timely that you might be covering in the next month or so. Please share this post if you have educator friends who might be interested–thanks!]
Laura, I love how you weave metaphors all through this poem. I’ve never come across your Heart of a Teacher poetry book before. I also feel for the added stress that this year teachers are going through. I haven’t been back to substitute teaching yet because I have asthma, which makes it so difficult to breathe in mask and makes me more susceptible to getting COVID-19. I miss students so much! I’m sorry I missed your online talk with poet Joyce Sidman, who’s books I adore. Thank you.