An Open Letter to First-Year Teachers

Dear First-Year Teachers,

      Thank you. Thank you for pouring yourself into your classroom day in and day out. Thank you for shedding blood, sweat, and tears for the sake of our students. Thank you.

      I see you. I see you taking work home with you each and everyday. I see you spending nights and weekends crafting lesson plans. I see you providing the basic needs to your students when you need to. I see you.

      You make a difference. You make a difference to the students that love coming to school. You make a difference to the students who have traumatic homes. You make a difference; even on bad days.

      Being a teacher is like being pulled a hundred different directions. Meetings, conferences, professional development days, and edTPES are only a few of the things we juggle in addition to teaching students. Being a first year teacher is like reinventing the wheel. Starting from scratch, and trying to be perfect.

      Being a first-year teacher is one of the hardest things you will ever do. But you will make it through. You will come out the other side a completely different person, and those moments in your first year will forever change you as an educator.

      Thank you for joining this thankless profession. I see you putting your entire being into being a teacher.. You make a difference in the lives of so many.

      Thank You. I see you. You make a difference.

Sincerely,

"Veteran" Teachers