How to help a teacher

I am a highschool student in Denmark, WI. Our school co-owns kayaks and gear and introduces kids of all ages to kayaking for low or no cost to the students. The teacher who organizes this spends a lot of his time and money on keeping it going just to teach more kids the joys of the outdoors. I just got back from a weeklong trip he took our group on to the Apostle Islands and we were trying to find some way our group could thank him for what he does for us and all of his other students. Any Suggestions?

Gratitude Is Nice…

– Last Updated: Aug-07-07 9:00 PM EST –

verbal expression and/or a card goes a long way. Even better, picture of the group with individuals signing their names and thoughts.

Pics and cards from teens over the years I have kept while other things have gone into the circular file.

sing

PS. If you feel the need to do more, maybe a simple collection of several dollars for a gift certificate at an outdoor focused store. It's a token but more than sufficient. Your teacher really isn't doing it to get material gain. When you're older, keep in mind the adults that have influenced your life positively and do the same for those coming up.

why not
Organize a time to sort and inspect gear after each trip, then help with any repairs or cleaning.

I’m a scoutleader and believe me, he’ll appreciate it- I spend 10-20 hours after each trip cleaning pots, drying filters, drying tents, and doing repairs and then an entire weekend each summer testing stoves, lanterns and patching tents and canoes.

All my kids are experienced and are careful with gear- imagine what new kids can do to it.

This also helps the new ones understand the importance of maintaining the gear and gives them some insight into what is needed to do it right :slight_smile:

As a teacher, I know what I would want.
An expression of thanks in any form from the group would be treasured. Teachers often wonder if they have done a good job and if their efforts are appreciated. Expressing the ideas you did in your posting is more than enough.

Give a donation of time or money…
I’m sure they could use both.

this makes sense

Let people know you have a great teacher
I know Mark from teaching at the Door County Symposium and I’m glad you’re trip went well! What a great guy!



I’m also high school teacher and, in addition to the many good suggestions here (e.g., a gift cert to Rutabaga), I might recommend that you put together a presentation (either video or PowerPoint) of slides from the trip, along with testimonials from students who participated, and make appointments with the Principal, Superintendent, and school board where you present what you learned from the experience…



There’s no better way to show your apprecation than to make sure your teacher’s bosses know what a good job he’s doing!


Write a letter
to the school committee/superintendent and have all the kids sign it, and send a copy of it to him also.



cheers,

jackL

This one is very effective

– Last Updated: Aug-08-07 8:23 AM EST –

Writing a letter about the importance of what this teacher has done and getting as many kids as possible to sign it then send a copy of it to the following three places can be quite effective.
1. Local media
2. School board
3. School administration

Playing it up in the local media shows its' importance to the taxpayer. Even going so far as writing an article about the experience and including photos for the local paper will do nothing but help the program.

If you want to directly contribute to the program then you might look at hosting some sort of fundraiser (car washes, bake sales, leaf raking parties etc.) to raise money for this teacher to buy new gear with.

Congradulations to this teacher and his students who are responding to the educational experience.


great advice sing and scouter
The photo idea is excellent. As an instructor on the side(not sea kayaking), I can’t tell you how much a simple heartfelt “thank you” - even verbally - means. The picture idea is even better.



Lending a hand shows your appreciation and that you simply “get it”. Money is nice but if I’m going to charge for services that’s covered already. The first two posts recommend something a little closer to the heart.

Newspaper
I was reading through all the suggestions and having grown up in a small midwest town there were often full page spreads of Boy Scout summer trips or a community theater production, etc.



The community likes to see what is going on and then the teacher would be able to put the article on a wall.