No matter what you do for a living or how successful you are, chances are, you would not be where you are in life if it were not for the K-12 education that you received. Great teachers are a big deal, no doubt about it. However, over the last year or so, teachers all over the country have been striking and protesting for better pay and working conditions.

The bottom line is teachers do a lot and receive little in return. How can we show teachers that we appreciate all of the hard work that they do and the sacrifices that they make? By creating ways to say thank you. In this piece, I will discuss three ways to say thank you to teachers.

1. Support their right to higher salaries. When compared to other critical professions, teachers salaries are the lowest of the low. When I hear stories of teachers working 2-3 jobs just to make ends meet, I get upset. As I alluded to earlier, teaching is the profession that makes all other professions possible. So why on earth do they have to strike to receive the salaries that they deserve? If you want to thank teachers, support their right to higher pay by protesting alongside them. Or email your Governor and other elected officials and let them know where you stand on the issue. If they want your vote during their next reelection, they better start treating teachers with respect.
2. Send a letter. Send a letter to the teachers that inspired you or challenged you to be the best version of yourself. Let them know that without them, you would not have the life that you now enjoy. It will only take 15-30 minutes to write the letter, and I am sure that it would make your old teachers day. Invite them over for dinner or ask if you can pay them a visit. I am sure they would love to catch up and hear all about what you are up to now.
3. Fund a teacher project. Teachers all over the world start GoFundMe or DonorsChoose.org campaigns to secure funding for their classroom projects, classroom tech or school supplies. If you know of a teacher that is trying to fund a project, support them. If you don’t, visit one of these sites and find a worthy teacher project to fund. It will only cost you a small amount of money, and the impact that these teachers make with their projects will genuinely make the world a better place.

What did I miss? How else we say thank you to teachers?