In the English language arts Common Core standards, there are standards about speaking and listening as well as presentations. As teachers around me have unpacked the standards over the past few years, the concept of listening cited specifically as a standalone standard has been questioned. Teachers have claimed, “I expect students to listen every single day, so I'm covering that standard every single day of the year.”

On May 3, we celebrated the fourth Boxlight STEM Day (#BLSTEM) in conjunction with TAG-Ed’s Georgia STEM Day (#GASTEMDay). Students around Georgia, as well as several locations in Latin America, participated in lessons conducted with the Boxlight Labdisc. STEM Day is a hands-on, inquiry-based learning event designed to help students discover critical STEM skills and understand how STEM disciplines apply to the world around them. Lessons ranged in topics from heart rate and light absorbance to Newton’s second law.

As we count down the final days of school, I always like to stop and reflect. Yes, I am tired and probably looking a little haggard, but I really love my job. And I’m not just saying that because June and July are right around the corner!

Teaching truly is a wonderful profession, and here’s why (in case you need reminding!): 

Your child comes home from school and on their paper is a single number: 9. Should you punish or reward them? Call the teacher? Call a tutor? 

The answer is pretty obvious: we don’t know. A single number doesn’t really make any sense without having some context. Was it 9 out of 10 or 9 out of 100? Was it a score for points or a score from a rubric? We need more information to know what the number actually means.

The next questions for the teacher and the student are “How does this impact grading?” and “What do the numbers even mean when it comes to the grade?” Again, a number with no context doesn’t mean much. But in order to create meaning from this number, we need to start with what the number actually means once it is turned into a grade. 

Teaching students how to research is more difficult than it has ever been. Common Core standards emphasize research skills, which help to support complex and critical thinking for our students. It’s a good thing to teach, but can be a very hard thing to learn. There are many reasons for this challenge, as well as why it’s getting harder all the time for our kids.

Each school year, I spend about two weeks (paid) and two months (unpaid) prepping, planning, and dreaming of the year to come. I attend workshops and professional development, all centered around how to strategically and effectively pour knowledge into the little brains in my care over the coming nine months. It becomes this massive multi-dimensional chess game of student placement, centers, guided teaching, whole-group lessons—the list goes on. What I fail to account for each year is the profound effect my students will have on me and my personal and professional growth.

This spring, hundreds of educators joined us for our Transforming Learning in the Classroom webinar series. Each of our 45-minute sessions were led by experts and leaders in the field of education and technology, who shared their insights into creating successful learning environments. These presenters work in schools and make an impact every day, and they brought their vast knowledge, expertise, and advice to our series.

We will launch another series in the fall, featuring new topics and speakers to offer their insights into educational trends. If you missed our live spring series or can’t wait until fall to be inspired, don’t worry! You can still be motivated by all of these wonderful educators and innovators by viewing any of our sessions at your convenience.

Just this past week, I asked a fourth-grade student to help another student get caught up on a research project. The two students came to my classroom and sat down at the computer. My helper Kristie sat down next to Robbie and I could instantly see a change. She morphed from student to teacher before my very eyes. As Kristie sat very patiently and kindly working with Robbie, I was amazed—and once again reminded of why I am a teacher. Moments like these, where you see a student using his or her skills, collaborating, and going above and beyond expectations, are the moments we teachers live for. And at this very moment, I was reminded again that I learn at least as much from my students as they learn from me.  

While there can be some difficult aspects to the teaching profession, most teachers would agree that the pros far outweigh the cons. In fact, many teachers would be happy to tell you all the things that make them passionate about the field of education!

Since we’re celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week, we thought it would be fun to ask some teachers what they enjoy most about their job. Here is our compiled list of the top 25 things teachers love about this profession: