Two Books for Teacher Appreciation Week

With the beginning of May, both students and teachers alike can see the end of the school year looming ahead. And, what better time to celebrate the teachers in our own lives, and in our children’s, that have opened the doors of learning, cooperation, courtesy, collaborative endeavor and respect for one’s classmates in that little microcosm of the real world called the classroom, than Teacher Appreciation Day.

What goes on there six hours a day, five days a week, can be life-changing and life-enhancing, in that those hours and interactions with both teachers and classmates, can shape a child’s ability to persist, persevere, and push through difficulties in learning and life.

And that is no small stuff.

So, here are two books to celebrate Teacher Appreciation Week.

They are different in approach and lessons learned, but each provides a learning curve for young readers that is worth sampling.

Teacher Appreciation Day

by Lynne Plourde; illustrations by Thor Wickstrom

It’s Teacher Appreciation Day, and Mrs Shepherd’s class has come up with some pretty prosaic ways to salute her pedagogical prowess. They are:

 

Buy apples for the teacher.

Wear her favorite color green.

Draw pictures of her dog.

Clean the blackboards.

 

They are all quite nice, but creatively, not particularly pushing the envelope.

Maybella Jean Wishywashy has other ideas entirely that take non-conformity to a new level of endeavor. She goes full tilt to demonstrate her appreciation of her teacher’s tutorial abilities.

Her ideas to celebrate Mrs Shepherd include:

 

Buys lots of things from the store.

Wears every piece of apparel she owns.

Paints pictures of every pet that pops into her head.

Cleans the entire classroom.

 

Maybella Jean is not a half-way measure kind of kid. She believes in going the distance. And, her largess is, well, a bit overwhelming to an Olive Oyl twin named Mrs. Shepherd.

Has Maybella missed the appreciation mark?

As TV crews descend to capture this classroom occasion, the rest of the pupils are like clams when asked what they appreciate the “most” about Mrs. Shepherd?

Maybella immediately pipes up, “Everything.”

Thoughtful, creative thinking, coupled with Thor Wickstrom’s zany and unconventional art, is spot on in capturing the theme of thinking outside the box, as students today ponder their part in future projects in the classroom; including that of “Teacher Appreciation Day!”

Miss Nelson is Missing

By Harry G. Allard, Jr., illustrations by James Marshall

Joni Mitchell coined a phrase in her 60’s hit called “Big Yellow Taxi.” And the phrase warned its listener’s, “You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”

Well, Harry G. Allard Jr., might have had that exact phrase in mind, teacher wise, at least, while penning the hilarious “Miss Nelson is Missing,” originally published in 1977.

What class has not tried to take advantage just a mite of a teacher’s kindness and understanding heart?

Room 207 is the home of a rambunctious and unruly class taught by the ever-patient and sweet-faced Miss Nelson. Despite her pleadings for order and quiet calm, so that real learning can occur, they seem to fall on heedlessly deaf ears. Spitballs are flying and paper planes are zooming through the air, despite the pleadings of the conscientious and kind Miss Nelson.

But, the tables are about to be turned, and the tide is about to change for this particular class of cutups. One Viola Swamp, a witchy substitute teacher with a demeanor that can  wither with a single look, is about to descend on this classroom of clueless, carefree students. Miss Nelson is missing, or so it would seem.

No more the sincere, but naively nice, Miss Nelson to pull the wool over, and get round. The class must now deal with the cagey Miss Swamp, who is wise to every attempted shenanigan they attempt, and stops them cold.

The class eventually realizes and repents their misbehavior, wanting Miss Nelson back, and Miss Swamp gone. But can such a thing happen? Is Miss Nelson truly missing? And why is Miss Swamp seen coming from Miss Nelson’s home?

Most questions are answered satisfactorily at the picture book’s conclusion, but there are subtler ones as to certain identities of the principal parties involved are left hanging, adding a certain air of mysterious uncertainty that adds just the right note to the book’s open-ended and thought provoking ending.

James Marshall’s illustrations of the blond and cherubic Miss Nelson, as opposed to that of Miss Swamp’s side buns of black hair caressing a pale, ashen face, accompanied by continually pursed dark lips with long pointed fingernails, are the perfect extreme studies in contrast.

Each teacher’s exterior is a clue to what lies beneath. Or does it?

Young readers and teachers will love this perfect read aloud for Teacher Appreciation Week. And dare I say it, students just might shower their present teachers with a tad more appreciation, lest someone akin to the woeful Miss Swamp, descend upon the scene.

Miss Nelson is Back, and Miss Nelson has a Field Day are additional titles by the same author.

 

Everyone has a special teacher in school that affected their life tremendously for the good. In thinking of them, at the end of the blog, please enjoy this 1967 hit by Lulu entitled, “To Sir With Love,” from the movie of the same name.

For me, it happened to be two very special people. They are Ms. Alida Kratnoff, my 6th grade teacher, and Mr. Thomas Leo, my junior year high school English teacher. They both set the bar quite high for achievement in elementary and high school. They helped me believe in my own abilities, in addition to my capability to achieve what I thought impossible; but not without hard work!

Their standards were high, but they were achievable.

They both instilled a desire within me to excel, and more than that, they exuded a professionalism that made a child and young adult believe that these role models’ opinion was of great importance. And each of them either told me, or inferred that I was capable, and could do what I set out to do…if I chose to.

They set the bar high as I said, but they also placed the responsibility for outcomes on my shoulders. That is an important life lesson in personal responsibility that students need to learn at an early age.

These two teachers modeled it to me each and every day that I was within   their daily sphere of influence. And their life lessons continue today to resonate with me.

And for that, I am very grateful to have sat in their classrooms all those years ago, and absorbed much more than those daily lessons.

Thank you, Ms. Kratnoff and Mr. Leo! You both a difference as teachers, and continue to just that, though you may not realize it.

And, for one of them that I still see, and came to know as an adult, I am very fortunate to have as a life mentor.

Here’s hoping your young reader is lucky enough to have someone akin to my two special teachers at some point in their own educational careers. And if they do, remember to have them say thank you.

Teaching is hard work, but coupling teaching with helping to form values and  character by their own example, is even harder still.

That is a teaching method that lasts long after the classroom door closes for good.