Mentors, leaders, parents, role models, friends. A teacher can be all of those roles in a student’s life. However, most of the time, students take their teachers for granted. Teachers don’t get appreciated enough for having to put in time and effort inside and outside of the classroom, as well as trying to maintain the classroom, the material, the students and teach at the same time.

The influence a teacher has on a student is one that lasts, according to Psychology Today. Other attributes of a teacher that Psychology Today mentions that make them so honorable and leader-like are their abilities to communicate and interact with people in an engaging manner.

Although, it may be hard if students feel the care is not being reciprocated, but even if it is, teaching is essentially caring. It’s important that students do, in some way, show their teachers that they appreciate them. Whether or not the students realize it, there are some who feel under appreciated once in a while, according to We Are Teachers, a site dedicated to helping and advising teachers while giving them a place to talk.

Something else that many fail to realize is the fact that teachers make mistakes. They are human too, so of course they’re going to miss a comma here or a plus sign there. For some reason, students feel entitled to judging a teacher based on their lessons, the subject they teach or just one off day in class.

The fact is, as younger and seemingly more innocent students, it’s easier to blame the teacher. Sometimes the students have it all flipped. Instead of saying the teacher gave you a bad grade, the student should understand he/she did not earn that A or B. It may not have been that student’s day, but the poor score definitely was not the fault of the teacher.

Still, some think teachers give bad grades if the teacher dislikes a student. The truth is, teachers do care and if they didn’t, they wouldn’t teach.

When the teachers do take a day off, they still have the best interest of the students in mind, and they have to go to more trouble making lessons plans without them being there. Sadly, students then try taking advantage of their substitute. They have to assume the role of someone who has been a strong influence and mentor to students recently.

This impact they can make on students is not necessarily accounted for in their paycheck. The amount of work and time they put into being more than a teacher is that of greater value than money could show.

With angry calls from parents to controlling students in class to actually teaching a lesson, and some have a family at home, teachers never fail to go beyond the basic expectations of teachers.

Teacher appreciation week gives students a chance to express their admiration for a short period of time. Teacher appreciation should last a lifetime, knowing that the influence one had on you was just as long.