ten things tuesday...

It's National Teacher Appreciation Day. Here are ten things about teaching and teachers:

1) "When asked what gift they would most like to receive from their students, nearly half of all teachers say a simple "thank you" will suffice, according to a recent National Education Association online poll."

2) Nearly seven out of 10 teachers (68%) cite working with kids as the reason for remaining in the profession.

3) When asked what made them smile today, 80% of teachers answered with a students’ achievement or kindness.

4) Teachers are also role models, disciplinarians, performers, coaches, and much more for their students.

5) Teachers are “home-grown.” Six out of 10 (60 percent) of public school teachers in 2005 got their undergraduate college education within 150 miles of where they were born. And 2/3 public school, according to the 2005 Profile of US Teacher by NCEI.

6) Teachers get to keep their childlike excitement about things like pep rallies, school plays and snow days.

7) Teachers are entertained by their students’ antics, even though they pretend not to be.

8) According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2008, there were 7.2 million teachers in the United States.

9) The number one reason teachers teach is because they want to help young people learn and develop. This has been true in every year NCEI has asked the question (1990, 1996, and 2005), and it is also true for teachers entering through alternate routes to teacher certification. The reasons teachers give for teaching are similar across age groups, gender, race, types of communities they teach in, and grade levels they teach, according to the 2005 Profile of US Teacher by NCEI.

10) Nearly three out of four (73%) enter teaching because of their desire to work with young people.