No matter the grade, the school, or number of students - teachers are the glue that holds it all together. That’s why Teacher Appreciation Week is so important, but the work they do deserves constant appreciation. For Marcy Powelson, a GreenStone loan processor in St. Johns, spending a morning volunteering with her son's class gave her a whole new appreciation for the work teachers do daily.
Marcy’s son is currently in beginners' kindergarten, and every month his class participates in a cooking lesson with their teachers and volunteers. The teachers select the monthly food to coincide with lesson plans and incorporate multiple learning aspects into the cooking class.
“For March’s cooking class, I volunteered, and we made green breadsticks on skewers to resemble snakes. The lesson was focusing on Ireland and how there are no snakes there. Seeing how they relate the fun activity back to learning really makes you realize how much thought and effort goes into planning these,” Marcy explained.
Along with volunteers, the classes also have third-grade buddies to work with the little ones. In a group of about 30 beginner kindergarteners, half of them work on a craft while the other half participates in cooking and then they switch. The students gain a buddy and mentor to look up to while also learning to listen to multiple different adults.
“Not only is he learning to work with other kids, but he’s also learning to listen to other parents or whomever may be involved. He’s learning to listen and take instruction from someone other than me or his teacher who he always hears from,” Marcy said.
Marcy worked as hard as she could to lessen the stress on the teachers when not everything went to plan. The breadsticks took longer to cook in the oven than expected and there were timing issues with lunch needing to be cooked as well.
“The teacher kept telling me I could leave if I needed to, but I stayed and reassured her I would focus on the oven and switching them out while she focused on the really important job of watching the kids. It really felt nice knowing I was able to help take that stress off them even if it was only for a few hours because they are the ones truly working hard for our kids,.” Marcy reflected. “The patience teachers have is truly indescribable. The job these teachers do is so hard, and they do it every day. Seeing it firsthand while volunteering shines a different light on the work they do, and I can't even find the words to describe the appreciation I have for them,” Marcy admitted.
We encourage you to use this week – or any day - to thank a teacher and show them your appreciation for the hard work they do. Without teachers, none of us would be successful. Take time to volunteer in the classroom, attend a field trip, or send a thank you gift! To learn more about how our employees give back in the classroom and around our communities, visit Outreach | GreenStone FCS.
