Teacher Appreciation Week is a national celebration that takes place the first full week of May. According to statistics from the National Center for Education, there are 3.1 million teachers in the United States. Out of those 3.1 million incredible teachers, there are 53 who work full-time at De Soto High School.

Recently, I have just begun to understand the amount of work and dedication it takes to be an educator. As a junior in high school, I can truly say that my teachers have made a difference in my life. High school teachers often go out of their way to ensure I have what I need to succeed, and that I am reaching my full potential. They always encourage me to ask questions and to constantly learn, even if I feel as if there is nothing left to learn– there is always something.

However, all that teachers do is not just limited to how they spend their time between 7:50 and 2:50. Many teachers also coach or sponsor school activities. This includes everything from Scholars Bowl and theater productions to Student Council or basketball. They spend countless hours outside of school giving students their time to set them up for success and help them enjoy the time they have in high school.

But it doesn’t stop there; teachers (as crazy as this may seem to some students) have lives outside of school. Many teachers have spouses and children to come home to, make dinner for, drive to practices and almost any other thing you can imagine. They also have to constantly be grading outside of school in order to enter grades in a timely manner that will keep the grade-obsessed, hormone-enraged teens they teach from coming after them.

Teachers are human; they have loved ones with illnesses, they have bad days, they have their own problems. Yet, no matter how crazy their lives become, teachers always make time to be the best they possibly can for their students. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve emailed or messaged a teacher outside of school hours, and they interrupted their busy lives just to help me. Teachers truly dedicate all of their time to their students well being, and do so even while experiencing their own life events at the same time.

Throughout my life I have had many exceptional teachers, many of them have been at DHS, and I owe a lot to them. Not only do they help prepare me educationally, but often times they provide me with life advice and emotional support. There have been instances in my high school experience where my teachers have gone out of their way to make sure I was okay and if I wasn’t, made the time to talk to me about it.

The idea of all this just blows my mind. Technically, all that teachers are required to do is teach us in class, but they do so many extra things for their students, kids who aren’t even theirs.

So during this Teachers Appreciation week, let your favorite teachers know how much they mean to you. Their hard work and dedication should not go unnoticed. Even when it’s not Teachers Appreciation week, we should still appreciate our teachers; they have one of the hardest jobs in the world.