Teacher Appreciation day at Polar Park closes out school vacation week

WORCESTER — Quaboag Regional teachers Elizabeth Stevens, Kristina Kenyon, Melissa O'Neill, Kaitlin Bryant and Heather Gaudreau sat around a table at Polar Park Thursday afternoon.

They were relaxed, chatting about what they have been up to during vacation week.

With no classes to teach or prepare for, one of the happenings on the agenda was attending a Worcester Red Sox game. Thursday was Teacher Appreciation Day at the ballpark, with educators sharing the spotlight.

Even though Thursday's game did not happen due to the weather and was called off shortly after the scheduled start time, it did not stop many teachers from attending. They socialized, they hoped the sun would appear and they met former Red Sox player Johnny Gomes.

With the game a washout, teacher appreciation was foremost in mind for many educators attending, who said they've been feeling undervalued by parents and their school committee in recent years.

“I would say there was definitely a shift with parent involvement in 2020,” Kenyon said. “They appreciated us (in 2020), but all of a sudden they hated us, that was just my experience. It’s a hard position but really rewarding. We’re dedicated to our district too, some places have a lot of turnover.”

Despite the challenges brought on by the global pandemic, Gaudreau said she cannot imagine doing anything else.

“I’ve always loved children and I love their excitement when they figure something out,” Gaudreau said. “I teach kindergarten so it’s lots of fun.”

Since the pandemic, Gaudreau said more of her students have behavioral issues.

“They were always so sweet, now every year I can count on having difficult behavior and it’s never been like that in kindergarten,” Gaudreau said. “Kindergarten used to have little problems but now some of the biggest behavioral problems we see are from kindergartners.”

North Andover teacher Deb Gilmartin said it feels nice to be appreciated, especially in a post-pandemic world.

Gilmartin began her teaching career later than most. She climbed the corporate ladder, was promoted to an executive position and realized she wanted to have more of a direct impact. After her first child was born, she decided to get into teaching.

“I always wanted to be a teacher,” Gilmartin said. “I became the chief financial officer of my company and I was like, ‘This is so meaningless.’ And then after (my daughter) was born, I went back to school. As hard as it is, I don’t think there’s anything more rewarding.”

Gilmartin, who has taught for over 20 years, said the pandemic impacted many of her students’ social skills. Along with that, introductions to more screens, video games and smartphones have changed the social aspect of school.

“That’s why I love coming to things like this because they’re so family-centered,” Gilmartin said. “You see kids actually engaging with each other whereas, in school, there’s a more targeted push to get them to engage because they just go home and play video games.”

Although she and teachers across the country faced similar challenges over the past five years, Gilmartin said she continues to teach because teachers “can make a difference.”

“I think it’s the hardest, but most rewarding profession there is,” Gilmartin said.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Teacher Appreciation Day at Polar Park