Whew, it has been one busy week around California Casualty. This week is both Nurses Week & Teacher Appreciation Week.
As you can imagine, trying to show how much we appreciate you has been a slight challenge. I mean… where to start?!?
Leading up to this week, I have been trolling the web, searching for articles, quotes, and gifts that our nurses and teachers would appreciate. (You can check out–and judge–the fruits of my laboron ourPinterest account.)
While scouring the web, I found this quote by Henry Brooks Adams about teachers…
A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”
And guys, it got me thinking.
So in this blog post, I’d like to talk a little bit about a teacher who is still influencing my life, 15 years after we met.
Growing up I wasthat kid in the classroom.
I always got my work done, was a good student, but I was annoying.
Chatty is an understatement. I was that kid who finishes her work then distracts everyone around her who is trying to finish. That kid who hides the hermit crab in her desk to play with when she’s bored. That kid who, once silenced with a final warning, starts passing notes.
My poor teachers.
But then I had this teacher, Mrs. Setter, who took the glue, hermit crabs, and gel pens out of my grimy little hands and replaced them with this:
… and boy was it beautiful. It had my name on it. Written inhot pink, perfect teacher handwriting. It was just for me.
The deal was I could use this pass whenever I finished my work. I didn’t have to ask. Just show it to Mrs. Setter, and down the hall I went.
The best part? The librarian let me pickany book I wanted.
Didn’t matter what age level the book was intended for. If I could handle it, and the content was age-appropriate, it was mine. And off I went, back to class, book in hand. And while everyone else was finishing up their math sheets, I would read, read, read… and Mrs. Setter? She got some much-deserved silence outta me.
peace was found.
Fast forward 15 years…
And to this day, I’m a book junky. I still fill my spare time–whether it’s time spent on the train or sitting in a waiting room–with a book in hand. I still think the only way to judge a good book is by how sad you are when it’s over… because there’s no more left to read.
And when I think back to the roots of my literary obsession, I come back to Mrs. Setter. Here was anoverwhelmed, underappreciated teacher who took a kid with too much energy and channeled that into something that would occupy her hands, silence her mouth, and completely rock her world.
Her creative problem solving led me through the magic wardrobe into Narnia, sent me afloat with Huck and Jim, and introduced me to Alice and the Queen of Hearts.
She led me to a world that once explored, I never left. And for that, I will be forever grateful.
So, on this Teacher Appreciation Day, be sure to thank your kids’ teachers.
You have no idea what worlds they are opening up for them.
But also take the time to remember the teachers who have influenced your own journey, just like Mrs. Setter did mine.
The California Casualty team headed to Miami to meet some inspiring educators at the United Teachers of Dade Council of Steward meeting. During our trip, we asked teachers how they thought we could improve education in America. Check out some of their answers in this YouTube clip!
Here are a few of their suggestions:
Get Parents Involved. Steve Goldman, a Government & Economics teacher in Miami, said it best: “Teachers only have them during the day, parents have them the rest of the time.” Check out these tips from the U.S. Department of Education on how you can help your child succeed when the school day is over.
Involve the Community. California Casualty is a proud partner of the education community.We have been providing auto and home insurance to educators for more than 60 years. Be sure to follow @TYeducators on Twitter to hear news and special offers for the education community.
Value our Educators. Teachers give so much, they deserve something back. Over the next year, California Casualty will show how much we value educators by giving away School Lounge Makeovers to four schools. We love thanking our teachers by giving out small gifts and offering insurance that matches their lifestyles. Be sure to follow us on Facebook to hear how we’re giving back to this deserving community.
Join the conversation! How else can we work together to improve education in America?
If your high school athletic program is struggling due to budget concerns, you may want to apply for a California Casualty Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grant – but quickly. The deadline is February 15, 2012.
Check out this interview with our CEO Beau Brown from Jeff Fisher, founder of High School Football America. Click to listen
“We want to ensure that as many schools as possible are considered,” said Doug Goldberg, Senior Vice President for the company.
Following a successful inaugural year, the 2012 California Casualty Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grant program will distribute a total of $75,000 in grants of $1,000 or more to support public high school athletics programs across the nation..
California Casualty established the grants program because education budget cuts have drastically reduced support for school athletics, in some cases forcing programs to shut down altogether. Chairman Thomas R. Brown experienced the positive impact of playing sports as a youth. “Athletes learn teamwork, discipline and that hard work pays off,” he said. “They’re a valuable complement to what’s learned in the classroom.”
San Mateo, California, November 15, 2011 … When teachers gather first thing in the morning in their school lounge at Quartz Hill Elementary, they aren’t much inspired by the fading color scheme and tired furnishings. But that’s going to change soon because the school just won a $7500 makeover of the lounge from California Casualty.
The San Mateo based, nearly 100-year-old company providesauto and home insurance for educators and other public-service professionals. Recognizing the lifelong impact of teachers and noting the current financial strain on public schools, California Casualty created the School Lounge Makeover contest.
Each quarter, one randomly drawn lucky winner will enjoy a major transformation of the one space teachers can go to rejuvenate and recharge.
Linda Lounder, a teacher at the Quartz Hill, CA school, submitted the winning entry.Along with 89 other staff members, Lounder is elated. “A new lounge will make our jobs just a little easier,” she said.
Work will begin in January. Local design professionals and other contractors will update the current salmon and brown color scheme and then address other items on the staff’s wish list. Lounder said the room serves multiple functions – as a meeting place, a quiet, restorative space and also offering work stations to teacher aides – and the makeover will meet all of those needs.
California Casualty’s School Lounge Makeover continues nationally through July 2012, with next drawings slated for late January, April and July next year. Winners of each random drawing will also receive the $7500 cash prize and assistance form local resources.
Any NEA (National Education Association) member is eligible to enter, and can enter once per quarter or until their school becomes a winner. All NEA members at the school may also enter, thus increasing their chances of winning.
This week is teacher appreciation week – and we had a little contest yesterday on our Facebook page where we asked folks to share a story about a teacher that has touched their lives in some way. We got so many great responses, I wanted to share them here as well!
Anna – I have so many teachers that I’d love to mention, but the one that sticks out for me is Ms Huckabee in Flour Bluff HS in Corpus Christi TX. I wasn’t that good of a student, but she saw something in me and encouraged me (a C student at best!) to join the academic Octathlon in 10th grade. I did, and did very good in competition. I went on to do Academic Decathlon when I was in 11th and 12th grade and did really well there too (1st in my division at state in 11th grade). I would have never gone into it if she hadn’t encouraged me. It improved my self esteem and made me the woman I am today (I went on to become a nurse).
Lauren – Best teacher in the world…. Margaret Chapman! She was my first grade teacher AND my Grandma! Taught me the love of reading.
Stacey – My kindergarten teacher, Miss Hinkle, was the best teacher I ever had. She showed me the love of reading and that all things are possible 🙂 when she saw how I was taking and loving learning all things new, she began a communication book ( journal) only between her and I. She would ask me things about my day, what I had learned and wanted to learn and all about my weekends. I was only 5 at the time but I think about her often and am now 41!!! I still have the book too 🙂
Fuvie – My husband, a teacher of LD and PE for 32 years is retiring this year due to SB5 and teacher retirement reforms. There was not a day he didnt get up looking forward to going to work. He has enjoyed every minute of his job for 32 years and will miss each and everyone of the 500+ students he sees on daily basis. I admire him for the love and devotion he has given over the years. He will miss it dearly.
Janie – I would like to thank a very special teacher I had in college. My mother. She is one of the most amazing educators that has ever taught me. She strives to make learning a hands on experience. All her students remember her and always say what a wonderful instructor she was.
Becky – I am a teacher and work with incredible teachers throughout my building and district….Id have to say the best teachers are the ones in my building and on my 2nd grade team!
Janine – I am a teacher in a very small school and we all have to work together as a team to do the best for our students and to get the best from our students. I have a lanyard hanging in my room that says TEAM – Together Everyone Achieves More, and in a small school this is so true. Way to go LBE:-)
David – My Mom was a 4th grade teacher for over 30 years, she is the most caring and inspiring person I know. Now I am grown living and working in the same community I grew up in and I am constantly meeting people that recognize my last name and say how my Mom was their favorite teacher growing up. This is her first year of retirement!!! I love you Mom!
Corinne – I’m a teacher who works mainly with students from other countries. In my mind the best teachers are those who take the time to get to know the students. They make the effort to activate schema of all students, those born and raised in refugee camps as well as the US born and raised. Teachers teach students not information and the better a teacher knows a student the more success they will both have!!
One of the great things about working here is that I get to see all the great things California Casualty does for its groups. Recently, the Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grant was awarded – and here is a video of the presentation from the Oregon winner.
If your high school athletic program is struggling due to budget concerns, you may want to apply for a California Casualty Thomas R. Brown Athletics Grant – but quickly. The deadline is February 15, 2012.
San Mateo, California, November 15, 2011 … When teachers gather first thing in the morning in their school lounge at Quartz Hill Elementary, they aren’t much inspired by the fading color scheme and tired furnishings. But that’s going to change soon because the school just won a $7500 makeover of the lounge from California Casualty.