AFT President Randi Weingarten is taking the #TeachMeYouDid Challenge, saying “I would not be where I am today if it weren’t for my teachers and mentors, and I sincerely thank them. They were my own Jedi council when it came to my education, helping me find my passion and fulfill my calling. As Master Yoda would say: Teach me, you did,” she added.
Participation in the challenge is simple: tell a story about a teacher or mentor in your life who awoke the Force within you; tell it in a video or a drawing, or write a letter, or make up a dance.
Post this story to social media — Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, You Tube will all work — and tag that post with #TeachMeYouDid. If you can, tag that teacher or teachers in the post as well, so they can hear how they inspired you.
Finally, tag a friend or three and challenge them to do the same. These stories will be curated on the Teach Me You Did website.
Click here to learn more about the Teach Me You Did challenge.
“This teacher appreciation week, I am calling on our elected and appointed officials, and our broader community, including everyone who has a stake in educating future generations, to be grateful for the important — and hard — job that we do,” Weingarten added. “Give us the tools and latitude we need to do our jobs. Help educators develop their capacities. Public education extends the ladder of opportunity to all children; honor the people who dedicate their lives to this work. And respect — not demonize — us when we fight for the voice we need and the resources our kids deserve.”
Click here for the official White House proclamation in honor of Teacher Appreciation Week.
“In ‘Star Wars,’ you cannot become a Jedi without a teacher. Yoda turned Luke into a Jedi. We all have our Yoda,” said U.S. Rebel Alliance Campaign Director Andrew Slack. “The goal of the Teach Me You Did challenge is to take a moment and thank that one person who changed your life by inspiring you or believing in you or simply not giving up on you, that one person who awoke the Force within you and turned you into a Jedi,” Slack added.
Click here to learn more about the U.S. Rebel Alliance Campaign.
Additional activities for educators, classrooms and clubs specially designed for Teacher Appreciation Week are also available online at the Share My Lesson website.
Click here to access Share My Lesson’s teacher appreciation resources.
Teachers and mentors are the heart of our society. They bring out the Light Side, fight the Dark Side and turn us all into Jedi. The #TeachMeYouDid Challenge is a way of using the Force to thank them for all they do.
