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FROM STAFF REPORTS / Editorial 

As classrooms sat empty on Tuesday, May 5, there were no apples, cards or gifts of any kind handed from student to teacher on 2020 edition of Teacher Appreciation Day.

This year, instead, there were virtual classes for some, no interaction with teachers for others and just a completely different feel than the love we are used to seeing between teachers and their kids.

It’s part of a change due to COVID-19 cancelling schools that has impacted both the student and the teacher to end the 2019-20 school year.

The toll is taxing on both parties as teachers don’t get to see the faces of the kids they grew to love throughout the year and share their passion for teaching the next generation, while kids are actually missing school and their teachers… who would’ve thought?

But with this year’s different feel during Teacher Appreciation Week, which started on Monday, May 4, there also seems to be a greater appreciation than usual.

This year, not only students, but parents and others are appreciating what teachers have always done and what they are doing this year during an unprecedented time.

While teachers battle the mental side of dealing with how this year has ended, struggling to accept the new normal and trying to find any and every way to keep instructing their kids during this pandemic, the least we can all do is say ‘thank you.’

Every day, they put together the patience of teaching your kids. One of the most important jobs in the country, they are educating the next generation to do bigger and better things.

If you don’t know a teacher and haven’t seen the work that goes into their jobs, you may not understand the hours they put in to make sure your child has the best education.

They don’t just work from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. They’re there early to get ready for the day and leave late after preparing for the next day. That’s after a day of watching after and educating close to 20 students, something many of us are finding difficult to do with one or two kids during this time of at-home education.

Like many jobs, we don’t think of our teachers unless there is a problem between them and our kids. It’s thankless at times and often underappreciated.

But this year, it has been refreshing to see the resurgence of thanks pouring in for teachers across the country, and it couldn’t come at a more important time.

They appreciate you, and more than anything, they miss being in the classroom with your kids five days a week. Simply put, teachers miss being teachers right now.

But next fall, when we are hopefully back to normal, it’s going to be special to watch them and your kids beam with excitement once they are reunited.