I know that most teachers give their best and then some every day. These are the teachers that arrive early and stay late. These are the teachers that volunteer for extra duties when no one else steps up. These are the teachers that take their work and their worries home. They think about how to solve problems at school while they are out with friends or they stay home on Saturday night to work on a new lesson. They use their own money to cover the cost of “extra” supplies for students. Sometimes these teachers miss acknowledgments at faculty meetings. Sometimes the only time they hear from administrators is when they get complaints from parents. So these teachers are scrutinized more, asked to do more, to give more. Sometimes these teachers..the ones who give their best..the ones who sacrificially light the way for students every day can just get burned out.

Do you know a teacher like this? It only takes a moment to write them a message of encouragement. Let them know that they are not invisible. Remind them to take a personal day for their mental health. Send them an unexpected gift card. Better yet, offer to listen. Perhaps we are losing our best teachers, because we haven’t yet learned how important it is to give the “best” our support.