Pedro Gonzalez, a Spanish teacher at Samuel Ogle Middle School, was honored by the University of Maryland during Teacher Appreciation Week.
A quick and not-so-quiet march took place through the hallways of Samuel Ogle Middle School in Bowie, Maryland. There, the dean of the University of Maryland's School of Education joined faculty and staff from the University for a surprise visit during Teacher Appreciation Week. our own.
Pedro Gonzalez, a Spanish teacher at Ogle, never expected that to happen. When someone interrupted the class by playing the school's victory song, Gonzalez began crying as Dean Kimberly Griffin sang the eulogy.
“We talked about all the great things you're doing and how you show up for these kids,” she said. They were there to “thank you for your work.”
Gratitude came in the form of gift baskets containing Maryland-related gear and clothing, many from businesses owned by other Maryland alumni. Then she began to realize the amount of money teachers were lining their own pockets to help educate children.
“So we want to put a little something in your pocket,” she said.
When he saw the $1,000 check, he said, “I feel like I should give something back, because everyone is going to ask for it anyway,'' he said, as the audience erupted in laughter.
“I don't know what I did to deserve this,” he said. “This is something I've been doing for a long time. I don't feel like I deserve it. I feel like I'm just a regular teacher. Masu.”
When told that other graduates of the College of Education had nominated Gonzalez as the recipient, he called it “wild” and suggested other teachers were more deserving.
“I think there are probably a lot of teachers who deserve this,” he says.
“Everyone has a favorite teacher,” Griffin said. “We can all think deeply about the impact that teachers have on our lives, but we often fail to say ‘thank you.’ Today is Teacher Appreciation Week, so we can all reflect on the impact that teachers have on our lives in a really big way.” I wanted to say “Thank you.''
After surprising him with a thank you poster, the students also benefited.
“I have extra credit points to give them and they'll definitely get some. All right, let's all go get our 'G-bucks'!” he exclaimed. “Students earn extra credit points for doing well in class, so they earned that today.”
Gonzalez became the third teacher to be honored by UMD on Wednesday. The school brought similar surprise gift packages to Jamie Amaya, who teaches at International High School in Langley Park, and Alexis Cutler, who teaches at Tyler Heights Elementary School in Annapolis.
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