Last year during Teacher Appreciation Week, I got a Post-it note stuck to my shoe.
It happened during dismissal. I had just said goodbye to my students and I looked down and noticed a neon pink sticky flapping off my heel like a tail. I peeled it off, assuming it was trash. But then I read it.
“You are the best techer. Thank you for lerning us.”
Love, Jaylen
I smiled, and I did what any teacher would do: I stuck it to the corner of my desk, right next to a macaroni necklace and a tiny rock someone gave me as a gift. That note stayed there the rest of the year.
And every time I questioned whether I was doing enough, whether my lessons were landing, or whether I could survive one more indoor recess, I looked at that note. Not because it was profound, but because it was real. It was heartfelt. It was from someone who saw me. Someone I taught something to, even if it wasn’t spelling yet.
That’s the thing about Teacher Appreciation Week—it’s not about the fancy lunches or the Starbucks cards (although we’ll never turn those down). It’s about the little reminders that what we do matters. The "thank you" notes scribbled in pencil. The way a student beams when they finally "get it." The quiet nod from a parent at pickup. The sticky notes that cling to our soles and our souls.
So this week, let the gratitude stick. Let it catch you by surprise, like a note on your shoe. Let it remind you that you are seen, you are appreciated, and you are making a difference—even when it doesn’t feel like it.
And maybe, just maybe, go check the bottom of your shoes.
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