Teachers sitting in a classroom on a Saturday

I recently taught a Digital Citizenship class for NYC teachers using Common Sense Media and I was truly amazed. These people spent their day off to come into the city and sit in a classroom all day, just to learn how to better serve their students. We spent the day getting better, in some ways by me, but mostly from what everyone brought to the table. Everyone shared something: a resource, a classroom hack, or answers to a question. Everyone was so generous. I came away from the day with a wonderful feeling. Teachers are awesome. 

I don’t know of other professions where everyone shares their best practices. You don’t see salespeople sharing their sales pitches, you don’t see plumbers posting how they fixed a radiator. Teachers are one of the few professions where people are so proud of their work they want to share it so that other teachers can benefit from it too. And that’s not all they do. They bring work home, they steal supplies from home and bring them to school, and they spend their own money to equip their classroom. You’ve heard all the stories, most of you have done one, if not all those things.I just want to stop and say, thank you teachers. I’m proud to be a colleague of yours. You might not be told it very often, but you’re awesome.