Appreciating Teachers

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week! Few people can have a bigger impact on a child’s life than a caring teacher. The most effective teachers ignite a love of learning and a sense of possibility that motivates students to reach their full potential as human beings and as citizens. Growing up in New York City, for me that teacher was Michael Lockett, a remarkable, compassionate educator who always seemed to know when I needed to talk about something that was troubling me. Later in life, I’m grateful I had the chance to reconnect with him and thank him for being such an important presence in my life.

At GBH, lifelong learning for all is at the core of our mission. We couldn’t fulfill that mission without teachers by our side. I’d especially like to offer my thanks to GBH’s Educator Ambassadors. These educators hail from public schools across the state of Massachusetts and bring a range of expertise and approaches to integrating technology and innovation in their classrooms. They are critical advisers and thought partners in our work to produce high-quality media resources and support for teachers and students.

During this deeply challenging year, teachers have risen to the demands of distance learning and have also been doing the difficult work in their classrooms of confronting systemic racism, ensuring equity and inclusion, combating misinformation and teaching about the value of civic life.

We’re grateful to the many teacher-partners, educator research participants and GBH professional learning webinar attendees who’ve continued to work with us during this time. For example, GBH Education, in partnership with our affiliate NEPM in Springfield, has been facilitating Educator Peer Exchanges in the past year, where teachers have convened to share notes and learn from each other on topics such as building an anti-racist classroom, science for social justice, and brass tacks tech tools for distance learning. Teachers have also worked with us as we’ve developed content-specific PBS LearningMedia resources and webinars on subjects like culturally responsive teaching in math or teaching diverse stories with primary sources and artifacts.

To show our appreciation for our country’s hardworking educators, GBH is inviting all of our audiences to share a tribute to the teachers that made a difference in their lives. Tell us about your favorite teachers--the ones that lit the spark that nurtured your own love for learning, exploring and discovering.

Join us by sharing your memories or a shout-out to a special teacher on social media with #ThankATeacherGBH.