Give Greatness: Recognizing Teachers Who Inspire Us

This post is sponsored by SMART Technologies.

Take a moment to think about your favorite teacher. How did they impact your life? What is a lesson (a life lesson or academic lesson) that has stuck with you over the years? Hopefully, positive memories flooded your mind about your favorite teacher and all that he or she meant to you. Over the course of my career I’ve had the opportunity to personally work with, and get to know, hundreds of teachers and I am in awe of the passion, creativity, and knowledge they bring to their students. They’re constantly on a quest for continued improvement so they can be their best selves not only for them but for the students they teach each and every day. These teachers and I am sure the teacher who you remembered, inspire greatness in their students. They teach you content, but they also teach you about yourself.

I was fortunate enough to have several teachers who inspired me but one, in particular, comes to mind. I never thought I was great at the sciences or math, and none of my teachers really made me think any differently until I met my high school chemistry teacher. She was young, energetic and determined to make her students love science as much as she did. She took me under her wing and soon I was understanding concepts I never thought I’d be able to grasp. I was leading experiments with confidence, and hanging out with her after school just to learn from her. She taught me how to never give up just because I struggled with something in the past. She helped me see the beauty in challenges, and how amazing it feels when you finally overcome them. More than just teaching me chemistry, she taught me how to believe in myself and to know that I could do anything I put my mind to.

Teachers are more than just individuals who have and share knowledge, they are coaches, encouragers, confidants, counselors, believers in dreams, and so much more. Teachers pull out of us things we didn’t know we had, and they speak into us ideas that we never thought possible. So what can we do for individuals who have impacted us so much? We can start by simply saying the words, “thank you”. We can give them gifts of appreciation. And sometimes opportunities come along that allow us to publicly recognize those who inspire us.

SMART Technologies has recently launched the Give Greatness contest which encourages colleagues to nominate a teacher at their school who: inspires greatness, makes a difference in their students’ lives, and inspires school staff. While nominating and sharing about an inspiring teacher is great, what’s even better is the teacher and the nominator will be entered to win a classroom technology package! The grand prize winners will each receive:

  • SMART Board® 7000 Series interactive display with iQ
  • SMART Learning Suite software subscription
  • A SMART Document Camera™ 550
  • SMART Audio™ 400 classroom amplification
  • 30 Chromebooks
  • Wall mount and installation services
  • SMART training and implementation support

Imagine the teaching and learning possibilities that could come as a result of receiving this great technology upgrade! Great teachers deserve to be recognized, and the Give Greatness contest not only recognizes great teachers, it also rewards them so they can continue doing what they do every day: inspire students to be great.

This post is sponsored by SMART Technologies. If you’d like to learn more about sponsored content on GettingSmart.com, email Jessica Slusser. 

Getting Smart Staff

The Getting Smart Staff believes in learning out loud and always being an advocate for things that we are excited about. As a result, we write a lot. Do you have a story we should cover? Email [email protected]

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