TJS Teachers Are the True Difference Makers
By LAURA SPAULDING, Staff Writer/Consultant
Ask anyone who has been part of The Joy School family what the secret is to the success of our students, and everyone will tell you the same thing - it is our teachers! Joy School teachers are the true difference makers and our number one resource in carrying out our school’s mission. This year for Teacher Appreciation Week, Deirdre Jones from our communications team, joined forces with our amazingly thoughtful students to spotlight every single classroom teacher in a series of Instagram Stories. Students were asked to share a word of appreciation for one of their favorite teachers which Ms. Jones then shared on The Joy School’s Instagram account.
While most students helping with the project needed very little direction and were full of stories and examples of the ways their teachers have impacted their lives, a few students asked for some time to think about how to put their thoughts into words, before sharing on camera. Fisher, as one example, took several minutes sitting alone to contemplate his thankfulness and then commented that he would remember his teacher and this story for the rest of his life.
When asked if there were any words or themes that she noticed while pulling off this ambitious project, Deirdre Jones commented, “I kept hearing the word kindness. Oh, and patience. Kindness and patience kept coming up over and over.” So, whether Hale was sharing about how Ms. Sheldon helped him through the grief of losing his pet frog, Meatball; or Miles was crediting his 4th grade teacher, Mr. Hancock, with his success in 8th grade math, it all came back to our teachers’ kindness and patience.
While the project sounded like a quick and easy way to celebrate our most valued resources, the project took on a personality of its own as the students were very serious and thoughtful, offering heartfelt and often significant words of appreciation. Capturing the magic each one of our teachers brings to their classrooms in only 15 seconds proved a much more difficult task than first anticipated, and the posting of our final teacher appreciation videos has spilled over into additional weeks of teacher celebrations! The reality of course is, no matter how many weeks we spend celebrating our amazing teachers, it would never be enough!
You can see all of the Teacher Tribute videos as highlights on our Instagram account under Teacher Thanks or on Youtube at this link: 2023 Teacher Appreciation - YouTube
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