As many of you know I am a former teacher, and many of my clients and close friends are teachers.

Being that today is National Teachers’ Day, I just wanted to say, “Thank You.”  Thank you for all you do to make this world a better place, and for dedicating your lives to educating our children.

I found this poem on the Internet and thought I would share it with all of you.

By Donna Fargo
A Message of Thanks
To All the Great Teachers
In This World

Thank you for being such wonderful teachers, exemplary role models, and caring people.

Thank you for knowing your subjects and sharing your knowledge.

Thank you for not being afraid to treat students like real people.

Thank you for showing acceptance, approval, and appreciation.

These are all gifts that are so important to a student’s development and that your students will always remember, just as they will also remember you.

Words of encouragement, a little respect, simple gestures of kindness from a teacher promote the perfect climate for students to study, learn and grow.

Your attitude translates into a spirit of friendliness and good will towards others in an atmosphere of creative freedom, joy and ease, and you foster this feeling in your classroom.

I salute the good work you’ve done. I appreciate the people you are, and I thank you for your positive influence.

You have passed on invaluable instruction and wisdom and created pleasurable moments associated with learning that will always be sweet memories.

Thank you for answering the call to be teachers.

Thank you for the enduring impression you’ve made in the lives you have touched.

Every community needs people like you.

Your contributions are immeasurable.

Your lessons are permanent.

You improve our world.

You are so important.

Thank You!

Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company … a church … a home.

The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.

The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude … I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you … we are in charge of our Attitudes. – Charles Swindoll

The dinner guests were sitting around the table discussing life.  One man, a CEO, decided to explain the problem with education.

He argued, “What’s a kid going to learn from someone who decided their best option in life was to become a teacher?”   He reminded the other dinner guests what “they” say about teachers:  “Those who can, do.  Those who can’t do, teach.”  To stress his point, he said to another guest, “You’re a teacher, Susan.   Be honest.   What do you make?”

Susan, who had a reputation for honesty and frankness, replied, “You want to know what I make?   I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.  I make a C plus feel like the winner of the Congressional Medal of Honor.   You want to know what I make?   I make kids wonder.   I make them question.   I make them criticize.   I make them apologize and mean it.   I make them write.   I make them read, read, read.   I make them show all their work in math and perfect their final drafts in English.   I make them understand that if you have the brains, and follow your heart, and if someone ever tried to judge you by what you make, you must pay no attention because ‘they’ just didn’t learn.”

Susan paused and then continued, “You want to know what I make?  I make a difference.  Now what do you make?”