5 Ways to Show Teachers Appreciation

June 24, 2010

In many regions it is the end of the school year. Here are 5 low-cost ways to let your teachers know you appreciate them:

1. Organize a teacher and staff appreciation lunch – If you can afford to bring in some catering, go for it. If not, make it pot luck and have everyone bring a dish. The point is to gather everyone together for the purpose of celebrating.

2. Make a speech – School taking the time to publicly thanking the school teachers and staff shows good leadership. Opening up the floor for teachers to give praise to their peers adds an additional level of warmth. Keep it brief – and sincere.

3. Certificate of Appreciation – Print off one for every teacher, complete with their name, the name of the school and the school year. Have the principal sign them. Templates for certificates are easy to find on line if your word processing program doesn’t have them.

4. Write thank you cards – It’s amazing how much impact a hand-written letter or card goes in today’s world of technology. Discount stores often sell packages of thank you or blank cards for very little money.

5. Say “Thank You” – In addition to saying it in written form, a sincere, focused verbal thank you, along with a handshake, or a hand on the shoulder is always a nice touch. Be sincere and smile. This is not the time to offer suggestions for improvement for next year, but to show appreciation for the work they’ve done this year.

Related post: 7 Ways to Celebrate the End of the Semester http://wp.me/pNAh3-1R7

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

“Big Universe” teaches children the love of reading and writing

June 22, 2010

When I saw this resource posted on a friends’ Facebook page, I had to share it with you. It’s a fun, creative, value-priced resource to help children learn to love reading and writing. Children create their own picture books through Big Universe, a fee-based service that also offers a free trial. There are family, classroom and school plans. The site makes it easy for children to create and publish their own books. Super resource for literacy programs, language arts programs, and home schoolers. Love it!

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Got a language lab? Rip it out!

June 14, 2010

Language labs went out with the 20th century. Language labs came into existence in the late 1940s and early 1950s when modern foreign language programs were starting to develop in universities. Labs were constructed where students were gathered together and collectively followed a prescribed audio programs. This followed the behavourist model of language teaching. That was long before the communicative method was ever developed.

The purpose of language labs was for students to gain auditory exposure to the language they were studying. This was a big deal back then. Students had far fewer opportunities to travel. There was no such thing as the Internet. There was no foreign television programming. And phone calls to family members who were living abroad were horrendously expensive.

That’s all changed. In today’s world of digital everything, audio exposure to foreign languages is readily available at little to no cost. Satellite radio, Internet radio and podcasts are all available. Even as far back as the 1980s, visionary scholars began to see that one day, language labs would become extinct (Chen, 1996; Froehlich, 1982). They were right. In the twenty-first century, constructing language labs is not a wise use of a school’s limited money, time and other resources.

Note: This blog post was one of a number that served to inform a larger article that can be found here:

Eaton, S. E. (2010). Global Trends in Language Learning in the Twenty-first Century Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED510276.pdf

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

1 Comment | education, ESL, languages, second languages | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

Are you promoting your program from the inside out?

June 13, 2010

I like to say that marketing is about people and sales is about the dollars. Marketing is about developing excellent relationships and building a reputation of excellence so others want to work with you. The most effective marketing starts from the inside out. This includes the marketing of educational programs, be it an English as a Second Language program, a literacy program or any other kind of educational program.

Here’s how: Managers, administrative staff, teachers, tutors and all staff become your program’s ambassadors in the community; not because you want them to, but because they want to. Are you the kind of administrator who inspires your staff to be an ambassador for your program?

  • Do you treat them as if they are the most important aspect of the program? Excellent teachers = excellent program.
  • Do they have their own business cards? A business card is a symbol of professionalism. Can you really afford not to have them? If your teachers don’t have this “business basic”, the message you are sending is that they are not considered professionals.
  • Do you ask for their input? What are their ideas on how to clean up the school, improve the program and extend your reach further into the community? Do you ask them to act on their ideas by pitching in to help the school improve?

If you want to market successfully, start from the inside out. Make sure relationships within the school are the best they can be.

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Update – January 2018 – This blog has had over 1.8 million views thanks to readers like you. If you enjoyed this post, please “like” it or share it on social media. Thanks!

Sarah Elaine Eaton is a faculty member in the Werklund School of Education, University of Calgary, Canada.

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Posted by Sarah Elaine Eaton, Ph.D.

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