Teacher Appreciation Week is over, and teachers across the country went home with gift cards, thank you notes, mugs and more.
But one teacher told WTOP what he really appreciates are the thank-yous from parents who can see that teachers genuinely care for the students in their classes.
Matt Eicheldinger, a sixth grade teacher from Minnesota — and now a New York Times bestselling author — recalled one day when his principal called him into the office.
A parent wanted to see him right then.
“Typically when that happens, it’s not for a positive reason, it’s because the parent is upset,” Eicheldinger said.
But to his surprise, the parent simply felt they had to take time in the middle of the day to let Eicheldinger know he was making a difference with their child, who loved being in his class.
“And that kept me going for a long time. I thought about that memory for months,” Eicheldinger said.
Eicheldinger is known to his followers on Instagram and TikTok as the storytelling teacher, who starts each vignette with, “Hello, my name is Matt, and I’m a teacher,” followed by “and today I’m going to tell you a story called “Heads Up” or “Snowday” or “Steering Wheel and Sidewalks.”
Each episode lays out a situation that cropped up in his classroom, followed by some insight about what he tried to teach his students, or often, what they taught him.
Eicheldinger also shared that he wrote a book, one that had seen plenty of rejections over the years, but was finally published.
Now, “Matt Sprouts and the Curse of the Ten Broken Toes” is on the bestseller list, and Eicheldinger explains what was behind his push to get the book in print: “We’ve really found it to be successful with reluctant readers, which is why I wrote it in the first place.”
He said about 85 percent of the book is autobiographical, with some slightly embarrassing moments that help kids see that everyone has those.
“To watch it go out into the world and help kids find a book that hooks them into reading has been really special,” he said.
Many elementary and high school teachers tell their middle school teaching friends that there is no way they could teach kids in the middle grades, it’s too challenging. But Eicheldinger said he loves teaching that age group.
“I think it’s a really unique time in life, because the emotions are so big and there’s so much going on, but I like watching them grow as teachers, not just students,” he said.
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