Be Nice to Teachers in May

There are a few times of year when teaching is more difficult than others.  What times of year those are may depend on where and what you teach, but May is difficult for all teachers.

First of all, the kids are at the height of squirelliness in May.  The weather has gotten warm, so they have spring fever.  They got a small taste of freedom during spring break and then had to return to the grind.  Middle school boy testosterone levels are peaking, and they don't know what to do with it.  This results in them shoving each other into lockers.  For the serious student, their brains are just fried.   They are preparing for exams while still trying to finish up their regular work.  For high school students, there are two weeks of AP tests, so they spend all their mental energies on that.

Teachers don't have a lot of mental energy left either because they are also experiencing all of these things while writing exams and making sure they are fair.  We are figuring out how to un-decorate the room without feeding their end of year mentality.  We are trying to discipline kids behavior even while understanding why they are behaving this way.  Outside of school life doesn't really exist at this time of year, except it has to because someone decided Mother's Day should be in May.  Whoever decided that was NOT a teacher.

May is also an emotional time of year.  All the "lasts" start happening.  It is the last chapel or the last chorus concert or the last time the band will play.  At my school, the yearbook goes out at this time of year.  While that is exciting, it is extremely emotional.  Some of these people are not returning, so you are trying to sign their yearbook with everything you want to say to them.   We have awards assemblies, which can be emotional.  No matter how nice we are to the seniors, they leave every year.  Our school has a dinner for seniors, which are the three most emotional hours of the entire year.

This is also the time when teachers who won't return start announcing it.  I am at a point where I don't want to attend a faculty meeting for the rest of the year because I feel like every meeting has some sad announcement.  In this blog, I have talked a lot about our awesome IT people.  As of Monday's faculty meeting, three of the four of them have announced their departure.  Everyone has a good reason; they aren't leaving out of anger, but that doesn't change the sense of loss.  I'm not sure this happens on this scale in other professions.  Most businesses don't have discreet "years" that are stopping and starting points in what they do.  People leave businesses, but I don't think there is a one month time period in which you lose all of them at the same time.   When you love your school as much as I do, losing the people that make up that school means losing part of your heart.  Don't get me wrong; new people are fine.  We were all new people once, but the loss of some is felt very deeply by the entire school.  They just can't be replaced.  This school, in particular, has a very close faculty.  It just makes this time of year very difficult.


Teacher appreciation week takes place in May.  If you are a student or the parent of one, know this.  Teachers don't need stuff, but they do need appreciation.  A note of appreciation written from your heart will mean more to your teacher this time of year than any chocolate or gift card possibly could.  You teachers are people who are experiencing a highly emotional time, so be nice to them like you would if you had a friend going through an emotional time.  Be nice to teachers in May.