A few years back, I wrote an article Teacher Appreciation is Not One Week of the Year. The premise was simple: Teachers can take control of being undervalued and unappreciated.
I offered six ways to do this:
- Appreciate Another Teacher
- Call Parents with Good News
- Gather Your Own Student Growth Data
- Help Out Another Teacher
- Have That Difficult Conversation
- Add Value To Your Campus
That article explained these six in details, but here, I’d like to offer school leaders a perspective:
How can you craft a school culture to makes these 6 ways of being a habit?
Really, they’re more than just a feeling of appreciation. They’re empowering ways of being and empowering ways of working.
Empowerment might not really come from a mantle or a position. It might actually come from a culture that has empowering ways of being as its norm.
PS – I don’t recommend sending this in a general reminder to your staff – that might have the reverse effect.