Being a professor can often be a thankless job. Students sometimes see certain classes as more of a roadblock to reaching their goal of graduation than an opportunity to expand their knowledge. This is a flawed way of looking at the profession of teaching.
Teacher Appreciation Week was recognized in 1953 when former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt lobbied Congress to set aside a day to appreciate our nation’s educators, according to Hallmark. But it wouldn’t be until 1980 that it would become a day when the National Education Association (NEA) lobbied Congress for the holiday again.
According to R3ciprocity, professors on average lecture approximately three to 10 hours a day, which is what students see and possibly assume is the bulk of their work. But the same website estimates that professors usually work anywhere from 35-75 hours a week.
The impact of educators truly cannot be overstated. Socrates, Plato and Aristotle were all teachers. Socrates is known as the father of Western Philosophy, and his Socratic Method is still studied to this day. Plato founded The Academy in Athens, seen by many as the first Western University. Aristotle developed the study of logic itself, according to Kirisuf.
To go through and list even a portion of educators who have had an impact on modern society would be a Herculean effort.
So why should students care?
Aside from showing appreciation for the history of a profession, without which any semblance of society would not exist, we should care because they do.
Professors did not pursue their careers with dreams of super yachts and Rolls Royces. According to Ziprecruiter, the average salary of a professor at a community college in Los Angeles is $92,505 a year. That sounds decent enough, until realizing that, according to the California Department of Housing and Community Development, a family of four in Los Angeles making less than $100,900 a year is considered low-income, due to the prices here.
While there is a week dedicated to it, teacher appreciation should happen year-round.