"A good teacher is like a candleー it consumes itself to light the way for others." - Mustafa Kemal Ataturk
A school without teachers or students is just a building. The people who actually make up a school are teachers, and the role they play can be compared to none. It's not only about the knowledge they impact, but the creativity they implement in impacting the knowledge. Most times, when people ask you questions about your primary or secondary or university education, the first memory that comes to mind is either your best or worst teacher.
Teachers should be celebrated as often as possibleー not just on teachers' dayー because of the efforts they contribute to the prosperity of the school business. There are countless reasons why teachers should be celebrated: for the time they spend with students, the influence they have on students, the hard work and dedication they have to their job, and the list goes on. The role of teachers goes way beyond just teaching; they do some bits of parenting and counseling too.
As a school owner, you owe it to every teacher in your school to celebrate them as often as you can because they are more than deserving, and they bring customers to your school. Here are a few ideas on how to appreciate your teachers:
- Book Excursions: As much as teachers enjoy the time they spend within the walls of the classrooms, a few fun trips could help them relax mentally and physically. "Fun" doesn't have to be playful; they could be educative trips. The truth is, teachers barely go on break-- they even spend their weekends giving extra lessons to students. One of the best ways to appreciate your teachers is by booking excursions for them, to new and exciting places within or outside the country (if you can afford it). This way, they get to see and learn new things, which would also help broaden their knowledge and improve their teaching skills.
- Good Payroll: We would be lying to ourselves if we said: "Money doesn't make things better." Money makes almost everything better. Imagine a teacher who has to teach students almost every day, for about 10months in a year, and doesn't get paid for all the effort? Of course, such a person will be discouraged and would begin to lose interest in the profession. Teaching is fun, but when there's not encouraging payment, it can get burdensome. If you paid your teachers well enough, and as at when due, they would be more encouraged and excited about their jobs, and you know, happy teachers and happy students make your school grow! So, another way to appreciate your teachers is to pay them well and duly.
- Organise training sessions: As a school owner, you should organise training sessions as frequently as you can for your teachers. You can set up seminars in your school and invite professionals to talk to and educate your teachers on various topics or fields of learning. This helps enlighten them, thereby increasing their knowledge and skills. The impact of these would also show on the students.
- Celebrate them more often: As I said earlier, you do not need to wait until teachers' day to celebrate your staff. They ought to be celebrated as often as possible. When you get kudos for a job well-done, it makes you feel appreciated, and it encourages you to do more. Better still, it inspires others to put in more effort into becoming better too. You can choose to celebrate your teachers weekly or monthly by doing things like "Teacher of the week" or "Teacher of the year." This way, they know that their efforts are recognised, and they will be encouraged to work harder.
- Encouraging Webinars: In the past few months, webinars have proven to be one of the most helpful tools in educating people worldwide. Encouraging your teachers to engage in webinar sessions would be very helpful to them as it would help broaden their knowledge of their various fields. Much more, it would help them connect to other people across the globe who share the same interest as they. Like they say, "no knowledge gained is wasted." The more knowledge they have, the more knowledge they will communicate to students.
CONCLUSION: Most people think the best way to appreciate others is by giving physical gifts to them happy. The most important way to show appreciation is by giving back value to whoever gave you value first. This is why most of the ideas listed above are things that would give value to the teaching profession. Trust me, they last longer and will always come in handy than the material gifts you can give them.
