Today is World Teacher Day.

While teachers should be celebrated every year for their hard work and dedication to their students, this year, teachers should be celebrated even more so because of the difficult task of virtual and hybrid learning bestowed upon them because of the pandemic.

The impact that teachers have on students is more critical now than ever. More often than not, students are coming home to empty houses while their parents are at work. In even worse situations, students have lost a loved one to the virus, and they are having a difficult time overcoming that.

Virtual students are slowly learning their computer and Google Classroom, but it is still a caveat. Teachers who are taking on the monumental task of making sure that fifteen students in a Google Meet are paying attention are likely stressed and upset at the lack of normalcy -- but they continue to do the best they can because they understand the job is more than themselves.

I am 24-years-old, and I still remember my first-grade teacher at H&M Potter Elementary School in Bayville. I remember vividly that I was struggling with learning the necessary skills, and if I didn’t understand, I would be held back a grade. The teacher, who will remain nameless, did everything she could to help me learn. This included staying after hours, making different and easier lessons, and tracking my progress with my parents.

If you have an opportunity at some point today, thank a teacher and mention something that you learned in their class. I still have some of my high school teachers on my social media, and I am constantly reminding them of what they taught me. Without them, I wouldn’t be where I am today.

Thank a teacher! They deserve it.

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