What are we thanking teachers for?
The end of the school year is the perfect moment to show appreciation for the work teachers do all year round.
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“Teaching is not a lost art; but regard for teaching is a lost tradition” - Jacques Barzun
As ten million school aged children across the UK head toward their summer holiday, 620,000 schoolteachers will be looking forward to a well-earned break.
And after another disrupted and stressful year working extremely hard to catch up the lost hours of 2020/21, it definitely is well-earned. Especially when you consider that according to a survey by the National Education Union – as well as past surveys conducted by other bodies, including the government itself – teachers on average work at least 50 hours a week.
So, what will teachers be doing over the summer? Well for one, not lounging for weeks on the sun-bleached beaches of the Med – in fact according to the Teacher Tapp website, less than 50% go abroad and those that do spend an average of ten days there.
No, they will be in school for meetings, they will be preparing lesson plans and getting their classrooms ready, many will be marking exams, and some have the delights of a summer job to help ends meet. In fact, bearing in mind that the statutory annual holiday allowance for teachers is only 5.6 weeks, once you spread that across Christmas and Easter it is clear there is an expectation that the six weeks of summer is not all holiday.
This year, all of us, not just parents should be thanking teachers for what they do. And while a small present, a box of chocolates, a gift card or two, some flowers, perhaps a book, all help, why not take the time to actually say thanks, to show your regards – you know, with words.
Written by Alex de Berry