The modern teacher is faced with a monumental responsibility. Setting aside the challenges of meeting our students’ educational needs, we often find ourselves playing additional roles as surrogate counselors, social workers, student advocates, and substitute caretakers, while also facing down our society’s burdens, including gun violence, the effects of childhood trauma, and painful social inequities.

To do this work well takes a remarkable person—someone who is not only willing to learn how to teach all of their students well, but one who is also dedicated to compassion, empathy, and a sense of justice these additional roles require.

Unsurprisingly then, we teachers have to handle a lot of stress. We are fortunate that the work we love engages our hearts, minds, and spirits; yet, for that very reason, it can be exceptionally draining and often forces us to make personal sacrifices for the well-being of our students.

And that’s during normal, non-pandemic times.

If nothing else, the 2020-2021 school year has demonstrated to us teachers—likely more than ever—that we will always be called upon to shoulder whatever challenges our world presents.

Perhaps this is why we keep hearing the line, Thanks for all you do. If you’ve taught for a day, you know this phrase well. You’ve likely seen it in a card or an email. It fits perfectly on a cake for the faculty room. It’s the polite, courteous, obligatory thing to say when someone wants to thank a teacher for anything. Basically, it’s our version of Thank you for your service.

A catchphrase like this, especially the more it’s repeated, begins to sound meaningless, but I think it at least points to the fact that although most people don’t exactly know everything we do, they do realize we’re doing it. And that’s really important. I’ll take it. I’ll take all the thanks I can get!