Teacher Appreciation Week is May 4 - 10, and the actual Teacher Appreciation DAY is May 6th! These dates are nearly upon us, and it’s time to be thinking about what kind of appreciation you want to show your children’s teachers.

Let me give you a few hints: Your child’s teacher already has enough mugs, pins, Christmas ornaments, knick-knacks, and pretty much anything that says “World’s Greatest Teacher.” After teaching for just a few years, most teachers could probably start up a gift shop with that stuff.

What your child’s teacher wants is something he/she can USE! Teachers love gift certificates, for example, and a gift certificate for the Steve Spangler Science Store might be the best thing to EVER HAPPEN to any teacher, EVER.

Seriously, teachers really don’t want another plaque, no matter how catchy it might be. Teachers want things they can use, and if it’s something they can use with their students, that’s even BETTER!

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Most teachers feel, at one point or another in their careers, the dreaded BURNOUT.You may not even know you’re suffering from burn-out until it’s too late, so it’s important to keep a close eye on your own attitude and health.Teachers aren’t used to keeping watch over themselves, but we are just as important as our students and our families!

In the Jan-Feb 1995 issue of Instructor magazine, Dr. Judy Downs Lombardi, a professor at the University of Texas, listed these symptoms of possible teacher burnout…

• You’re bored with teaching and don’t feel there’s anything more to learn about your job.
• You bristle at suggestions of new ways to teach.
• You dream of perfection and judge your professional performance without mercy.
• You are plagued by the feeling that you should be doing more at school, even though you’re working hard.
• . . . You feel more comfortable doing paperwork than interacting with students, colleagues, and parents.
• You can’t remember why you went into teaching – or find yourself saying, ‘If only I hadn’t majored in education.’
• Teaching isn’t fun for you any more, and you complain about it incessantly.You take your frustrations home and can’t get them out of your mind.
• You count the days until the next break or summer vacation.
• You worry excessively about your students and their problems.
• You don’t take good care of yourself.You eat poorly, don’t get enough sleep, have let hobbies lapse, resort to unhealthy outlets for stress, and so on.

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