DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion article. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Tiger’s Eye staff, its adviser, Fremont High School, its teachers or faculty, or the Fremont school district.Every first full week of May, students are encouraged to express their gratitude towards the teachers at FHS in participation in Teacher Appreciation Week. Whether it is in the form of May Day flowers, verbal messages or simple handwritten thank you notes, for a moment, the impact a teacher has on a student is visible.
During passing periods, some students walk through the halls carrying gift bags and bouquets while others awkwardly hold folded notes in their hands before slipping them onto desks at the beginning of class. Some teachers end the week with candy, flowers and messages covering nearly every corner of their desks while others receive little more than a quick “thank you” before the bell rings. For a brief moment, it becomes obvious which teachers students genuinely connected with beyond assignments and grades.
Despite the week dedicated to this act of kindness, some teachers feel as though they still aren’t receiving recognition from students. It is easy to deflect this feeling on a generation of students who struggle showing gratitude. It is also easy to argue that, as a whole, students have become more disrespectful, disengaged and less appreciative; this isn’t a baseless concern. Now more than ever, students can be distracted, unmotivated and mildly difficult to reach. It is important to acknowledge how demanding and tiring teaching really is.
With growing class sizes, behavioral issues, pressure surrounding testing and the emotional exhaustion that comes with trying to manage hundreds of students every day, many teachers are burnt out long before the final bell rings. In classrooms filled with 25 to 30 students, it becomes difficult to give every student the attention they need while still maintaining patience, engagement and structure. Students notice this exhaustion too. We notice the teachers trying to continue lessons while students talk over them or the teachers attempting to motivate classrooms that seem completely disconnected from learning altogether.
However, unlike an assignment, appreciation is not something that can be assigned or plastered on the “expectation in all settings” posters. More often than not, appreciation reflects those who make an effort to remember a student and their bond beyond a name on a roster. These actions may not be a part of a curriculum, but they are what students carry with them long after the class ends.
Students remember the teachers who stand outside their doors every morning saying hello despite looking exhausted themselves. They remember the teachers who notice when someone suddenly becomes quieter than usual or when a normally engaged student stops turning work in. They remember the teachers who ask how the concert went, who attend activities they were never required to attend or who stay after school helping students despite already having long days themselves.
Even strict teachers can become deeply appreciated when students understand the care behind their expectations. Appreciation does not always come from easy classrooms or endless free days. Sometimes students appreciate the teachers who challenged them the most because they felt pushed to become better in the process.
In some cases, some classrooms never progress past expectation and authority. Rules are enforced for everyone but themselves, assignments are expected to be done but won’t be graded and lessons are delivered through the very screen we are said to spend too much time on. Students don’t lack appreciation because they are unwilling, but in these settings, it is difficult for it to grow.
There is a noticeable difference between teachers who create environments students genuinely want to be inside and teachers who simply occupy the room. Some classrooms feel welcoming even on stressful days while others feel disconnected before the lesson even begins. Some teachers speak passionately about their subject while others sit silently behind their desks as slideshows move across the board. Some students feel genuinely seen while others quietly sit through entire semesters feeling almost invisible unless they become a problem needing to be corrected.
That does not mean students are entitled to entertainment, nor does it mean teachers are failing if they feel overwhelmed by the current educational system. Many teachers are trying their absolute best within circumstances that are exhausting for both students and staff alike. However, appreciation grows through consistency, effort and human connection. It develops when students feel as though someone truly cared whether they succeeded or failed.
Respect can still exist, but appreciation is much different than that. Sometimes the absence of appreciation is not a reflection of student failure, but a reflection of a relationship that was never fully prioritized.
Teacher Appreciation Week should represent more than flowers, themed lunches and occasional thank you notes. It should represent the teachers students continue carrying with them long after graduation. Years later, students may not remember every assignment, worksheet or lecture, but they will remember the teachers who made classrooms feel safe during difficult periods of their lives or the teachers who reminded them they were capable of more than they originally believed.
The teachers students appreciate most are often the ones who never demanded appreciation in the first place. They simply created classrooms where students felt valued enough to give it willingly.
