Celebrating Teachers During Teacher Appreciation Week

This school year, the celebrations are limited, but the appreciation has exponentially increased as parents and caregivers across the nation have walked a mile in the shoes of a teacher. Between Zoom meetings, AMI packets, communications with parents, and supporting and caring for students, teachers are still working hard in the background, supporting their students and families as much as ever. In celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week, we asked our team members at Teslar Software to share their favorite teacher stories with us. Starting at an early age, teachers encourage and support us in unique ways that can impact and shape who we become throughout our lifetime. They can influence our role as students and parents, and our career paths.  

Rachael Carter, Sr. Client Advocate, recalls the influences grade-school teachers made throughout the years. “How do you even pick one teacher? Mr. Kirker was my third grade teacher and helped lay the foundation for the grammar buff I am today with good old Shirley English. Mrs. Watkins was my fifth grade foreign exchange teacher from England. She sparked a love for other cultures and a desire to travel and experience them all. Ms. Rankin and Mrs. Bowen were my 6th and 7th grade science teachers. Both were full of energy and fostered my growing passion for the sciences. Mrs. Corbin was my 8th grade keyboarding instructor (a class that I dodged as long as I could). She helped me go from no typing skills at all to being speedy typist and a 10-key pro.” 

Looking back on a college professor that helped guide his career path, Chris Whittle, Vice President of Support Engineering says “I was always a middle of the road student, had all the potential but never the drive. It showed a lot in my grades as they always hovered around C-level. But in college, I had a professor that was one of my favorites over the years, my Database professor Ken Armstrong. At the time, I was just getting into more organized programming and he really fueled my interest. Always approachable and available, he would answer all my crazy questions and would geek out with me on the results of assignments. It really pushed me to do cooler and cooler things in the class and was one of the classes I had nothing but an “A” in because I applied myself. He helped fuel the fire that got me to where I am now. He moved to Florida before I graduated, but we still keep in touch on social media.” Rachael also shares how a teacher helped guide her career path, “Ms. Susan Bristow. She is the reason I got my job at the University, which gave me the experience to get my job at Acumen, which ultimately brought me to Telsar. I’ll forever be grateful to Susan for helping a freshman college student get their first real job.” 

Many of us can recall teachers like these, and for those who are parents and caregivers to school-aged children, a new perspective and appreciation for teachers is gained as they see these stories being written for their own children. When speaking of his experience from the parent side, Joseph Robertson, Teslar’s Sr. Quality Control Engineer tells us, “The teachers and staff at our elementary school have always been great. We were surprised to find they learned all the kids’ names and faces before we walked them through the door on their first day of school. More recently, they are going above and beyond by consistently reaching out to the kids during the COVID lock-down and engaging with them by Zoom calls, Google Classroom posts, and teacher parades. I was especially blown away a few weeks back when my child’s teacher showed up on our doorstep to deliver a birthday present, and also included a little something for the other child. That kind of over-the-top love for the kids makes an impact not only on their learning, but also behavior and fond memories years later.” Colin Savells, Account Executive, also shares, “I would like to send a “shout out” to all the teachers that have helped my kids grow into two very smart and respectful boys and who treat them like their own. I really admire how they can keep a room full of small children engaged throughout the day while at the same time engaging in creative activities that help them learn new concepts.Teachers are the real superheroes.” 

We’re thankful for all the ways teachers impact and improve our lives and our society. Happy Teacher Appreciation Week from all of us at Teslar Software!