Hug a teacher is Kars4Kids’ answer to the #ThankATeacher hashtag trending on social media during Teacher Appreciation Week (May 1-May7). What is “hug a teacher?” It’s a platform we created where you can enter the name of that special teacher in your life and offer that teacher a hug.
Let’s face it, teachers aren’t doing what they do for the money. They’re doing what they do out of caring. We just don’t think a day or a week is sufficient to show our appreciation. We think a simple thank you isn’t cutting it.
Not that “hug a teacher” cuts it, either. In an ideal world, teachers would be placed on a pedestal and fed fine delicacies, and never have to worry about paying the bills. How shall we put this to make it sink in: Teachers are our future.
They are everything.
One more reason to #thankateacher today.https://t.co/uFFiZWTM7X
— edutopia (@edutopia) May 3, 2016
And yet:
The average national starting salary of a teacher is $30,377. Compare that to the average starting salaries of a computer programmer ($43,635), a public accounting professional ($44,668), and a registered nurse ($45,570).
Does that make any sense? Who gave that computer programmer his start? Who taught the accounting professional how to add and subtract? Who inspired that nurse to go into a helping profession in the first place?
You betcha. A teacher. The least we can do is be thankful. To hug a teacher and offer a shoutout by name, is certainly not going too far to express our appreciation for all that teachers do.
Tell us about the teacher that changed your life. #ThankATeacher #WhyITeachhttps://t.co/JoARW6V493
— US Dept of Education (@usedgov) May 2, 2016
By the way, according to the National Education Association, “Teachers spend an average of 50 hours per week on instructional duties, including an average of 12 hours each week on non-compensated school-related activities such as grading papers, bus duty, and club advising.”
It’s just not fair.
Hug A Teacher
So at Kars4Kids, the experts at mentoring and education for children, we’re asking you to go the extra mile to show your appreciation for Teacher’s Appreciation Week, by naming that special teacher out loud and proud on our hug a teacher platform, HERE.
Hug a teacher today. And then share this with the hashtag #HugATeacher (though we think a higher teaching salary would be a good thing, too).
It’s something to work toward, anyway.
About Varda Epstein
Varda Meyers Epstein serves as editor in chief of Kars4Kids Parenting. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Varda is the mother of 12 children and is also a grandmother of 12. Her work has been published in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, The Learning Site, The eLearning Site, and Internet4Classrooms.