OPINION: Giving teachers TIME to explore and grow
Let the adventures begin.
South American hiking. Journeys to the sites of ancient civilizations in Egypt, Greece and Rome. Sailing expeditions. The Emerald Isle. Henry David Thoreau. Unicorns, dragons and lions.
The applications for Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation’s inaugural TIME Fellowship Program (Time to Inspire Margie’s Educators) show a passion for education – one that matches the need for a respite after two unprecedented years of the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges.
Needless to say, it was a considerable effort to choose just 25 educators from a field of dozens to receive as much as $12,000 to help pay for projects that are intellectually revitalizing and personally renewing.
TIME is just the latest effort by the foundation and its partners to recruit, retain, celebrate and lift up the practitioners of one of the most important jobs in our society – the profession that creates all others.
We should all celebrate what educators do on May 3 during Teacher Appreciation Day, which is part of Teacher Appreciation Week from May 1 to May 8.
The pandemic turned their worlds upside down. It forced them to engage in long-distance instruction, create lessons on the fly and rethink how to help each student learn. Even as we return to “normalcy,” educators continue to be taxed by a world that keeps throwing new curveballs at them. Now both our region and our state are contending with a teacher shortage that shows no signs of letting up.
TIME – inspired by the teaching work of our founder Margie Barancik and her deep love of education – has been an inspiration in its own right, and we appreciate the amazing ideas from our educators from various grade levels and schools.
Ideas like:
• “Westside Barbell” – A summer dedicated to training under one of the most prestigious weightlifting coaches in the country.
• “Re-pair-ations Road Trip: To Deal and Heal” – A road trip across the United States to visit historic sites related to the civil rights movement, including opportunities to reflect and heal through these experiences.
• “Time to Think” – A quest to rekindle creativity through a summer writing retreat in the Florida Keys.
• “Surfing Waves vs. Surfing the Net: Unplug and Recharge in Hawaii to Sustain Self and Nurture Students” – Deepening connections to the ocean by learning to surf and kiteboard on the big waves of Hawaii.
• Another surfing expedition, titled "Vitamin SEA – Riding the Waves of Life,” to explore the natural wonders of Costa Rica.
• “Soul Connections” – A group project bringing teachers together on a journey to three African countries in a quest to fulfill a yearning to connect with a continent tied to ancient bloodlines.
There is a strong strategic vision for TIME; it has goals that go beyond recharging our educators. In return for this opportunity, our participants had to affirm an intention to continue teaching in the Sarasota school district for the next three years after they complete their projects.
We can’t wait to read, view, listen and learn more about these amazing educational quests when our TIME fellows return. And we’re excited that we'll soon start the process of finding the next crop of Margie’s educators in need of a professional rebirth.
Teri A Hansen is the CEO of Charles & Margery Barancik Foundation.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota educators are getting the TIME they need to recharge and grow
