{"id":6052,"date":"2018-10-05T06:57:46","date_gmt":"2018-10-05T13:57:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/?p=6052"},"modified":"2018-10-05T06:57:46","modified_gmt":"2018-10-05T13:57:46","slug":"world-teachers-day-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/world-teachers-day-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"World Teachers’ Day 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today is World Teachers\u2019 Day. In 1994, October 5th<\/sup> was proclaimed World Teachers\u2019 Day, a day to recognize and honour teachers for the contributions they make in classrooms and students\u2019 lives every day. On this day we have an opportunity to express our gratitude and say thanks for the tremendous impact teachers are making in the lives of our youth.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I am fortunate to be working with an exceptional group of professionals who brings their passion, caring approach, and innovative ideas to the classroom every day. I am continually impressed by their dedication and efforts to make learning engaging and fun. The best parts of my day are when I wander into classes to see the amazing learning that is happening.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But what are the students saying about their teachers? As I contemplated my focus for this post, gathering stories from the students seemed like a logical and authentic means to honour teachers. With notebook in hand, I felt like a roving reporter, approaching groups of students in the hallways during the lunch break. I asked them to tell me about their teachers, and I recorded their thoughts and stories which they so willingly shared.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Teachers are helpful and supportive<\/strong>. They listen when you need help. They want us to be successful and provide many opportunities for us to work one on one with them during the school day.
\n<\/a>
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Teachers are passionate<\/strong> about the courses they teach and make learning fun and meaningful. They plan activities and organize field trips that bring the curriculum to life.\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Teachers take a genuine<\/strong> interest<\/strong> in their students. They ask us about our weekend adventures, a sporting event or\u00a0 wonder how we are feeling. They notice when we look worried or upset and ask us how we are doing.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We see our teachers laughing<\/strong> together. (<\/em>I didn\u2019t really think students would notice or comment on that feeling of collegiality. Perhaps seeing their teachers having fun makes our students feel happy too; laughter contributes to a joyful atmosphere and positive school culture.)<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Teachers are awesome<\/strong>. They encourage us to ask questions and be curious.<\/p>\n

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Teachers are inclusive<\/strong>. They create a safe learning environment where we can be ourselves and not feel judged.<\/p>\n

The following poem written by a student in Ms. Smith\u2019s Creative Writing 12 class speaks to the importance of creating safe spaces for our learners.<\/p>\n

“This Room”<\/p>\n

By Lucy Chase<\/em><\/p>\n

When I walk into this room<\/p>\n

I feel safe<\/p>\n

Secure<\/p>\n

Special<\/p>\n

Like slipping into a fuzzy mitten<\/p>\n

For my heart and my soul<\/p>\n

Like feeling the sun on my skin<\/p>\n

The happiness soaks into me<\/p>\n

And I find myself<\/p>\n

Imagining things I usually wouldn\u2019t<\/p>\n

I express myself differently here<\/p>\n

More honestly and with more passion<\/p>\n

Than anywhere else<\/p>\n

In this room<\/p>\n

I am me.<\/p>\n

One of the common threads that ran through many of the students\u2019 comments was how the teachers make them feel.\u00a0 As Lucy so beautifully writes, \u201cIn this room I am me.\u201d Teachers create the conditions that allow students to be themselves.<\/p>\n

On World Teachers\u2019 Day, let’s remember to thank teachers for caring about their students’ well-being, ensuring they feel safe, and for guiding them lovingly every day as they navigate a world where endless possibilities await.\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Today is World Teachers\u2019 Day. In 1994, October 5th was proclaimed World Teachers\u2019 Day, a day to recognize and honour teachers for the contributions they make in classrooms and students\u2019 lives every day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":6053,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6052","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-students"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6052","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6052"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6052\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/westvancouverschools.ca\/rockridge-secondary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}