Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Daily Kos: Today is Teacher Appreciation Day

Daily Kos: Today is Teacher Appreciation Day:


Today is Teacher Appreciation Day

the most specific of the days of this week, which is Teacher Appreciation Week.

Today is a day when if at all possible you should express appreciation to a teacher.

If you have children in school, even a simple note of thanks for what that teacher has done can make a difference, especially in a time when teachers feel very much under attack by some in our society.
If you are feeling generous, a gift card - to Starbucks, or a bookstore, or - and this helps with the teaching - a copy or office supply store, even for a nominal amount, will be greatly appreciated.

Perhaps you no longer have children in school.  But maybe you know  teachers (other than me).  Send them an email of thanks for what they do.

Write a letter of appreciation, perhaps naming a specific teacher, to your local paper.
If you can track one down, maybe a note of thanks to one of your former teachers would be appreciated.
Do a blog post, thanking a teacher who made a difference for you or for someone about whom you care.
Encourage others also to act.

Remember what Henry Adams said:  A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.  We sometimes wonder about the difference we make.  Let us know.

Enjoy what teachers gave you.
Remember it.

Pass it on.

Peace.



Eugene Robinson describes "Austerity as a bridge to nowhere"

in a succinct but powerful column in today's Washington Post.  He begins simply enough:
Economic austerity is a dangerous, self-defeating intellectual fad. Perhaps I should say that’s what it was, given Sunday’s election results in Europe. Perhaps I should also say good riddance.
Of course, as we all know, given that Paul Ryan's is the driving mind behind Republican economic policies right now, we cannot as yet say "good riddance."   Then again, Robinson with his gift for language would probably include Ryan as a prime example of what he calls "addled ideologues who control the Republican part" who will