National Teacher’s Day 2011

   It is National Teacher’s Day today!  A day to honor teachers and the impact they have on our greatest national resource!

      We have all had a favorite teacher.  Some of us have many favorites.  Teachers are one of the biggest reasons we are who we are.  The NEA webiste talks about the history of Teacher’s day.

“The origins of National Teacher Day are murky. Around 1944 Arkansas teacher Mattye Whyte Woodridge began corresponding with political and education leaders about the need for a national day to honor teachers. Woodridge wrote to Eleanor Roosevelt, who in 1953 persuaded the 81st Congress to proclaim a National Teacher Day.

NEA, along with its Kansas and Indiana state affiliates and the Dodge City (Kan.) Local, lobbied Congress to create a national day to celebrate teachers. Congress declared March 7, 1980 as National Teacher Day for that year only.

NEA and its affiliates continued to observe National Teacher Day in March until 1985, when the NEA Representative Assembly voted to change the event to Tuesday of the first full week of May.”

   So National Teacher’s Day really isn’t that old.  You would think it had started way back during the days of the one room country schoolhouse when your great grandma had to walk 3-miles through the snow, uphill, both ways to get an education.

   There isn’t a whole lot of time left in this school year.  If your children or grand kids have a favorite teacher they may want to think about doing something nice for them this week or tell them something that will encourage them.  

   Thank you teachers for all that you do!