Every Monday Matters ~ Thank a Teacher!!!

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"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." ~Henry Adams


DID YOU KNOW?
- There are 3.3 million teachers in the U.S.—2.6 million teach K-12.

- Almost 50% of K-12 teachers leave the profession by their fifth year.

- A $15 billion per year investment--or a 30% raise for all K-12 teachers is necessary to make teacher compensation competitive with other professions requiring similar levels of education.

- In 37 states, K-12 teacher salaries do not keep pace with inflation.

- $7 billion a year is the cost of teacher turnover.

- One of the most important factors in determining a child's performance is the quality of his or her teachers.

"The task of the excellent teacher is to stimulate "apparently ordinary" people to unusual effort. The tough problem is not in identifying winners: it is in making winners out of ordinary people." ~K. Patricia Cross

TAKE ACTION TODAY
+ Identify a teacher you want to thank—your child’s teacher, a friend or neighbor who teaches, a teacher at a local school, or a teacher of your own.

+ Show this teacher your appreciation by: Writing/emailing a thank-you note; Bringing a gift like homemade cookies, handpicked flowers, or something you know they will like.

+ Organize a class Appreciation Jar. Give every student a piece of paper and have them list all the reasons why their teacher is special to them. Stuff the papers in the jar and let the teacher open one per day.

+ Volunteer in the classroom or at a local school and help with special projects.

"The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth." ~Dan Rather

YOU MATTER
Youth are the future of our world, and teachers spend more waking hours with them than their parents do. Showing appreciation to teachers lets them know they are valued and respected—you don’t have to be a student or even a parent of a student to show your appreciation. Remember, teachers help shape everyone’s world…including yours.

"If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job." ~Donald D. Quinn

What is the Every Monday Matters program?

Monday used to be the least favorite day of the week, but that is changing. EMM is based on the idea that Every Monday people can make a difference in their life and the lives of those around them. No matter how big or small the actions, they matter. And not only do people have the power to make change, they have a social responsibility to do so. Not out of guilt, but out of an appreciation for every living thing in the world. Together, each person can make a difference in the world and raise the collective consciousness, thereby creating a legacy worth participating in…one Monday at a time.

For more information about the EMM movement visit: http://www.everymondaymatters.com/