By Adam Rohdie
As the flowers start to bloom and the tents go up around campus, the signs of graduations are everywhere. At Greenwich Country Day, our seniors get their diplomas on Friday May, 20 and they will be part of the time-honored tradition of hearing speeches that give them advice about their futures, how to survive college, and how to live a good life.
Every year at graduation I make sure to pause the proceedings to first publicly thank the behind the scenes people who helped make the day happen. The facilities crew who set up the chairs, the tech crew who provided the sound systems, the cleaning crews, the office staff and assistants who do the heavy lifting to make a graduation happen.
Then, we thank the teachers. Those individuals who give so much of themselves, every day, in the critical service of educating our youth, especially these past few years.
Now, more than ever, communities across the nation must thank these stalwarts who have committed their lives to teaching. When students of the future read the history books recounting the pandemic of 2020, they will scratch their heads and wonder how they did it? How did they manage to keep schools open? How did they cover classes when a third of the teachers were out with a variant of this insidious disease? How did they teach through masked faces? With hybrid learning? How did they learn to become experts on Zoom in less than a week?
The answer of course, is by the sheer will of their spirit. The faculty’s never ending supply of optimism, passion, and resilience, not to mention their experience and expertise, is how they have persevered so far. Aside from doubling teachers’ salaries, there is no proper way to thank them for what they have endured and overcome. And yet, in light of the burn out they are feeling and the increasing resignations of those in the profession, we—educational leaders, education boards, and members of the community alike—must try.
Saying “thank you” regularly is important, but showing our appreciation is critical. We can do this by routinely checking in with teachers (stay interviews, surveys, town halls, etc.), ensuring workloads are reasonable, including teachers’ input as part of developing a program or curriculum, or in solving a problem, providing clarity around goals and priorities, and celebrating their hard work and dedication with breakfasts, lunches, ‘mental health’ days, etc.
Today, at the Greenwich Country Day School graduation, we will be content with a standing ovation from the students in our teachers’ care and the parents who recognize how lucky they are to have their children learn from such splendid people. On Monday, we will get back to work at making sure our teachers feel as valued as they undeniably are.
