Positive Parenting
Teachers “Make” a Difference By Jodi Kurry Cohen, MS.Ed Early Childhood Director, Temple Dor Dorim
In honor of teacher appreciation week in the Month of May please remember to stop and thank a teacher. Your kind words or a quick note to let them know they are appreciated means the world to them.
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eachers have a profound impact on our children’s lives. Few could argue with the obvious role a teacher plays in sculpting a child’s development, but all could agree that society still fails to truly value this powerful relationship. Even though governments, politicians and our newspaper headlines recognize the importance of education, we as a society, still fall short in supporting our words in monetary worth. Teachers provide children not only with academic skills but vital life skills that help them to become successful teenagers, adults and ultimately parents. Teachers lay the foundation that when built upon, lead to our future doctors, lawyers, athletes and hundreds of other professions that are compensated much higher than a classroom teacher ever will be compensated. In casual conversations on the topic of education, the majority of us agree that teachers are undervalued; however few of us take the time to recognize how else we can show our understanding and appreciation for the impact they have on our children’s lives. It is the simplest of things that are most often forgotten, how a mere thank you can go a long way in providing at least some form of compensation that is so truly deserved.
Teachers reap certain benefits that not many other professionals can claim. Every day they are able to see how their influence and guidance enable another human being to flourish. Every day they get to see that “spark” when a child makes a connection. At the end of the day, tired and exhausted, they are able to go home knowing they have made a difference in a child’s life. However, how many of us stop to recognize that this is the work they do each day and that it is all for the sake of our own children? Take the time to provide your child’s teacher with at least the minimum compensation of a thank you. A few words of gratitude that are well thought out and shared elicit a sentiment that is a very powerful and permanent message...you are appreciated. Those words help to validate the work they have already done and provide the motivation to continue the work they are doing by knowing it is recognized. When asked what a teacher makes, the true answer is so much more than a monetary response would suggest...teachers “make” a difference. Jodi Cohen has a Masters Degree in Elementary and Early Childhood Education as well as a Bachelors degree in Psychology. Jodi has led many workshops on parenting, behavior modification techniques, curriculum development, special needs training and crisis management. She has been the Director of Temple Dor Dorim’s Early Childhood Center in Weston for the past 15 years. For more information, please contact Ms. Cohen at the Early Childhood Center at (954)389-1232.
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May 2014 | OUR CITY WESTON