ERIN SPONAUGLE

Here's my take: What most of us are actually looking for as teachers isn't appreciation. It's validation. And those are not the same thing. Appreciation is someone telling you thank you, bringing you a treat, acknowledging what you do. It's nice to receive, and it's meaningful when it comes from the right person at the right moment, especially a handwritten note, which is honestly my favorite and the thing that sticks with me the longest. But appreciation is external; it'

Using your voice as a teacher is not about being bombastic or dramatic. It's not about starting things, or airing dirty laundry, or being the loudest person in the room. It's not about spilling tea, name-calling, or any of the other things that make administrators nervous and don't actually move anything forward. It's about being the professional voice of reason. Using what you know, from your actual daily experience in an actual classroom, to say the things that need to be s