American Education Week: TEACH

T = Teacher

E = Educate

A = Adventure

C = Children

H = Hard work

Teachers are some of the hardest working people I know. Teaching is more than a job. Many educators choose teaching as a career for the reward it brings - not the hours or the vacation days.

There are lots of myths around about teaching; here are a few:

• MYTH: A teacher’s day ends at 3:00 PM.
• FACT: Many teachers are lucky to leave school by 5:00 - and most are there by 7:00 AM.

• MYTH: Teachers get their summers off.
• FACT: Many teachers spend their summers participating in professional development, taking classes, and attending conferences.

• MYTH: Teaching is easy, and anyone can do it.
• FACT: Teaching is a rigorous professional career. Educators must maintain a current teaching certificate.

• MYTH: Teachers are solely responsible for learning.
• FACT: Teaching is more than than just helping students understand math. Many teachers are invested in the lives of their students. They are guiding, nurturing, and encouraging students.

Teachers don’t leave their work at the “office”. It goes home with them. They work well past 3:00 and spend summers learning and adapting their skills to meet the ever-changing needs of teachers. Teaching is a career marked with hard work and dedication.

Pepper recognizes the hard work it takes to be a teacher. Thank you for your sacrifice.

So, when you’re signing up for professional development and continuing your own education, we hope you’ll look to Pepper for online learning courses and resources. Many teachers use the Pepper courses to meet their districts requirements for salary growth, re-certification, and for CEUs.

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American Education Week: TEACH

T = Teacher

E = Educate

A = Adventure

C = Children

We teach….
	to make a difference
in the lives
	of children.
To encourage.
	To inspire.
To give hope for the future.

Thank you teachers for all that you give, each day, to the children you teach. Pepper hopes that we can assist you as you grow in your efforts to inspire and educate the children you serve every day. You can access our available Courses and utilize the Resource Library from your dashboard.

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American Education Week: TEACH

T = Teacher, E = Educate:

A = Adventure

Teaching is an adventure. Adventures come in many styles - some are challenging and some are merely exhilarating. Regardless of the type, adventures require an investment of time and energy. Each day in the classroom brings a new adventure.

Your day could be a mountain climb. One thing about climbing is that you can always see how much further you have to go, and a quick glance behind you shows you how far you have come. It’s a test of mental and physical strength, and it can last for a few hours or a few days.

Your day could be a sail or kayak across a smooth lake. While this can be physically draining, it can be emotionally rewarding. These days remind you why you chose teaching as a career.

Your day could be a rigorous hike or bike trek. These days seem like they last forever. Some are marked with pit stops along the way of small challenges.

You day could be a fast downhill ski run. Your day goes by in a blur and your feel as if you spent the whole day trying to avoid the trees.

Whatever the adventure your day in the classroom brings you, the difference you make in the children you teach is the ultimate reward. 

Thank you for embarking on new adventures in the classroom every day.  

Continue your professional development adventure by keeping up with new teaching skills and concepts by enrolling in Pepper Courses.

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American Education Week: TEACH

As we continue to celebrate American Education Week, today we get to our next letter in “TEACH”:

E = Educate

I had several “E” words in mind as I thought about what to write today: endurance, encourage, engage. But really, when it comes right down to it, there was only one that was the best choice. As teachers we are called to educate children. I love that educate is a verb because there’s definite action in all that a teacher does. I looked up synonyms for educate and here is what I found:

cultivate	develop	enlighten	improve
nurture	instruct	train	coach
edify	foster	mature	inform

As William Butler Yeats said, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.”

From your Pepper Team, thank you teachers for all of these ways that you actively strive to educate children - to light that fire!

And, another “E” word...enroll. Be sure to enroll in Pepper courses to keep up your own education.

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American Education Week: TEACH

Today is the first day of American Education Week. This week was first celebrated in 1921. It began after WWI as an initiative to raise America’s literacy rate. Today American Education Week provides a special opportunity to highlight the great things schools do. This week is set aside to celebrate public education and honor educators that are working hard to ensure that every child receives a quality education. Many schools and districts do something special each day of this week to show appreciation to teachers and others who are making a difference in the lives of children.

This week your Pepper blog will be focused on honoring and showing appreciation for all that you do. Each day we will feature a short blog post that we hope will be an encouragement to you.

This week we’re going to spell out the word “TEACH” with our blog postings - acronym style.

“T” = Teachers.

Teachers Change Lives. Teachers who love learning and love teaching children teach children to love learning. Here are some fabulous quotes to encourage teachers from the Global Digital Citizen Foundation's article, 8 Amazing Quotes for Giving Teachers Inspiration:

“You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.”

—Kahlil Gibran

“I am not a teacher, but an awakener.”

—Robert Frost

“One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world.”

―Malala Yousafzai

“I never teach my pupils. I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn.”

—Albert Einstein

“Better than a thousand days of diligent study is one day with a great teacher.”

—Japanese proverb

“Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero to me.”

—Fred Rogers

Your Pepper Team would like to say “Thank You Teachers” for all that you do - and all the time that you give to grow and inspire the children of today: our future.

As always, be sure to check out our wide range of Pepper Courses and the Pepper Resource Library to further your own professional growth.

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