By SUSAN DROMEY HEETER, InDepthNH.org
As any good educator knows, preparation is key to running a good classroom, to encouraging knowledge, to leading young minds. And today, Joyful Musers, I celebrate and muse joyfully that you will prepare for May 3 – 7, Teachers Appreciation Week 2021.
This week will arrive before we know it, it’s the same week as Cinco de Mayo and the National Day of Prayer. Both seem perfectly aligned with celebrating educators who have gone above and beyond during this pandemic.
Prayer, of course, always works, even the simple, “Help me.” And Cinco De Mayo is the celebration of Mexico’s victory against France at the Battle of Puebla. Cinco de Mayo has nothing to do with Mexico’s Independence Day, and everything to do with winning against the odds with grit, determination, dedication.
General Ignazio Zaragoza prepared a ragtag army of 2,000 poorly supplied men; they went to defeat the 6,000 French soldiers who had no idea the Mexican loyalty and dedication would prevail.
And that, dear friends, is what every educator has done – is doing – through this pandemic, through teaching remotely, in person, hybrid. Teachers have – and are – surviving their own battles with grit, determination, dedication. As an educator myself, this year has been stunningly challenging. It’s as if a chef has been given a loaf of Wonderbread, a cardboard box and a parrot and told, “Okay, you’ve got a wedding feast to make for 300, make this work.”
It’s been a lot.
And it’s been a lot for everyone, for students, for parents, for business owners, for everyone. But I can only speak for my own gang: the educators who are FINALLY getting vaccines, who have pushed through Google Meets and Zoom and Canvas, who have been asked to change everything.
So, dear musers, let’s prepare. Let’s get ready. May 3 – 7, 2021. Mark your calendars. And no mugs, please, no plant that’s going to be left in a car to die. Think Tom Brady celebrations, prepare, contact those you know who get things done, the General Zaragoza’s in your life.
Pray. Prepare. I muse joyfully you will and thank you for taking the time to celebrate those educators in your life with as much fervor and dedication as you do Cinco de Mayo.
Gracias. Let’s do this.
Susan Dromey Heeter is a writer from Dover who recently let her hair go au natural white. Writing has been her passion since her English majoring days at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Dromey Heeter has lived in The Netherlands, Alaska and currently basks in all things New England, including the frigid winters. An avid swimmer, Dromey Heeter’s great passion is to bring back body surfing as most children have no idea how to ride waves without ridiculous boogie boards.
