Kindred Spirits: Teacher-to-Teacher Appreciation

From Tricia Baldes

Handwritten notes. Fresh baked cookies. Flowers. Poetry. Doodles and drawings. These are some of the many ways I’ve seen teachers show appreciation for colleagues.

My favorite way of showing appreciation to my teacher squad is with music. About eight years ago, I started creating music mixes for teacher friends to kick off the school year, gifting these CDs on opening day. This has become a tradition, and looking through my iTunes playlists, I have a history of these yearly compilations. Most of the music is upbeat and motivational, though each list also includes other favorite songs of mine at that moment of time.

Music is a timeless gift, and it is inexpensive—or free—if you create a Spotify playlist.  To show my appreciation to all of our kindred spirits, I’ve done just that! Here’s a link to the Kindred Spirits Teacher Appreciation Mix, compiled from the greatest hits of the last eight years of playlists I created for friends. I hope you enjoy it — Kindred Spirits Teacher Appreciation Mix

Inspired by the fun I had making this playlist, I made another—this one to show my appreciation to my Kindred Spirits co-author, Jess, who is transitioning into a new chapter of her life, Ieaving the classroom to be the full-time director of Rock Your World. While crafting this playlist, I thought about the joy that is Jess, this exciting time in her life as well as her passion for human rights education, and I pictured her listening to it while working away overlooking the Pacific Ocean at the Dan Eldon Center for Creative Activism in Malibu, Calif.

This one is for Jess. I can’t wait to have my toes in sand next to my kindred spirit again! Kindred Spirits Teacher Appreciation Mix - For Jess

Teacher-to-teacher appreciation is important, and need not be limited to Teacher Appreciation Month or the start of a new school year. Sometimes, there might be a specific reason to show appreciation. Just last week, my eighth-grade ELA teacher friends and I gathered to pen thank-you notes with a meaningful treat to express our gratitude for colleagues’ support at a recent event.