“Education is the one field that makes all others possible. Every one of us has been shaped by someone who inspired our curiosity and helped us find our confidence, who guided us to think more clearly and pushed us to strive for better.” — President Joe Biden, April 30, 2021

As we head into Teacher Appreciation week, I was inspired by President Biden’s official proclamation. Not to get into politics, but it does feel good to have a national leader who has seen firsthand the commitment and hard work demanded of educators – especially recently, as we’ve navigated the changing requirements of the pandemic. At TGS, we learn from each other as one connected community. Whatever our position or title, we are all teachers here. On behalf of our students, who may or may not have the words to share their gratitude, I want to thank our teachers for living the actions President Biden describes. Our program would not exist without the tireless dedication of our TGS teachers, both past and present.

Thank you, TGS teachers, for…

Inspiring curiosity. Thank you, TGS teachers, for inspiring our curiosity by sharing your interests, curating Morning Meeting content, creating engaging lessons, tolerating our rabbit trails, and taking our questions and suggestions seriously. You know we love knowing all kinds of things, from the meaningful to the mundane, and you help us explore new ways to connect our ideas to what we’re learning.

Finding confidence. Thank you, TGS teachers, for helping us re-build our confidence, so we can grow from our strengths! Many of us arrive here uncertain and anxious, frustrated by the lack of understanding we’ve experienced in other environments. The love and belief of our teachers illuminates our true selves, and empowers us to share our gifts with the world.

Thinking more clearly. Thank you, TGS teachers, for helping us to think clearly about our strengths, challenges, and the work we need to do to be ready for the next steps on our journey. The task of self-reflection isn’t easy. Thank you for helping us move from awareness to understanding to the actions that will move us forward in our education and in life.

Striving for better. Thank you, TGS teachers, for all you’ve done to build this program. As we enter our second decade, we’ve learned so much about neurodiversity, education, and community. We’ve come a long way from our humble beginnings with 10 students at Jay Road, and I can’t wait to see how much better we are ten years from now!