Teacher Appreciation Week: Celebrating #EverydayHeroes

As we collectively emerge out of a year of challenge, confusion, and change, it would be a missed opportunity not to applaud the everyday heroes who saw us through the pandemic. High up on our list of heroes: teachers.

Last spring, as shutdowns rolled across the globe, teachers tidied desks, stacked papers, and locked their classroom doors – bracing for a few weeks of upheaval – never imagining what the next year would bring.

Over the next few months, educators were tasked with moving not only themselves but also their students to full-time remote learning, implementing new technologies and adjusting pedagogy to teach in a newly virtual world. They were asked to be teachers, IT support, entertainers, and in the face of a global pandemic – counselors and consolers – all at one time, helping kids to adapt as the world stood eerily still. All while facing the same fears and insecurities in their own lives.

How did they handle it all with such grace?

 

Teaching is a multifaceted profession, with ever-evolving responsibilities. Whether juggling roles as coach, advisor, or friend ­­– educators are always ready to be what our communities need. What’s more, they often take on these tasks knowing their work will be under, if not, unappreciated. In a world focused on immediate results, teachers are a testament to patience and doing what’s right, even if there isn’t a certain outcome. They go to work each day understanding that the seeds of knowledge or a spark of passion they plant will often take years to blossom. Most teachers never see the true impact of their work. Teachers are comfortable working in the unknown – always focused less on what is now – and more on what’s possible in the future.

That and many other reasons are why they are truly our everyday heroes.

In support of these everyday heroes, Cisco teamed up with Chris Martin from Coldplay to thank teachers and students.

At Cisco, we too are interested in what’s possible and how we can create an inclusive future for all.  We want to say thank you to all the teachers who by example and perseverance guided students through the last year. During Teacher Appreciation Week, we invite you to reach out and say thank you to the teachers who have touched your life. Let’s celebrate them for all they do for us – today and tomorrow. And let’s appreciate them for being a constant bridge between what is – and what is possible.

Here’s how you can get involved:

• Share your thoughts on teacher appreciation through your own social channels – you can see how our Cisco leaders thanked teachers around the globe.
• Follow our global hashtags: #ThankATeacher #EverydayHeroes, and #EducationNow
• Learn more about our everyday heroes in education and follow our blog series, #EducationNow
• Let’s keep the gratitude flowing!