The Stuffed Animal a Teacher Never Forgot
This past week, I ran into my children’s preschool teacher, Stephanie Ziman at the Greater Baltimore JCC.
It had probably been close to 14 years.
We hugged, smiled, caught up for a moment, and then she asked me a question that stopped me in my tracks:
“How is Monkey?”
Monkey is the name of my youngest child’s stuffed animal.
And honestly, it hit me emotionally.
Fourteen years later, she still remembered not just my children, but the name of the stuffed animal that mattered.
That’s what teaching really is.
It’s easy during Teacher Appreciation Week to reduce appreciation to gift cards, coffee, flowers, and social media posts. Those things are kind and meaningful. But this moment reminded me that true appreciation means understanding the role teachers actually play in our lives.
Teachers do not simply deliver information.
They carry pieces of our children with them.
They remember the fears, routines, personalities, insecurities, strengths, favorite toys, hard mornings, funny expressions, and quiet breakthroughs that many parents themselves may have forgotten over time.
And our children carry pieces of their teachers too.
Long after the classrooms are gone, those relationships remain embedded in who they become.
As AI rapidly changes education, this matters more than ever.
We are entering a moment where many people are asking what technology can automate, accelerate, personalize, or optimize in learning. Those are important conversations. AI will absolutely help teachers reduce administrative burdens, streamline planning, personalize instruction, and reclaim valuable time.
But if Teacher Appreciation Week means anything, it should remind us what can never be automated.
A student won’t remember the all of the apps they used.
They will remember the teacher who believed in them when they doubted themselves.
They will remember the teacher who noticed something was wrong.
The teacher who stayed after class.
The teacher who made them feel safe.
The teacher who made them laugh.
The teacher who saw them.
That is the irreplaceable work.
The opportunity in front of us is not to use AI to replace teachers.
It is to use AI to give teachers back more time to be human.
Less paperwork.
Less administrative overload.
Less burnout.
More presence.
More connection.
More emotional energy for the moments that actually shape lives.
That is what real appreciation should look like.
Not just thanking teachers for surviving impossible workloads, but finally building systems that honor their humanity and expertise.
As Teacher Appreciation Week comes to a close, I want to express deep gratitude to all educators.
To my wife, Rivka Bresler, whose entire career has been dedicated to education and whose care for students and families continues far beyond the classroom walls.
To every teacher our children have had over the years – thank you for helping shape who they are becoming.
And to the future teachers who will one day guide our next generations, challenge them, support them, and care for them in ways we may never fully see – thank you in advance.
Because long after grades are forgotten and assignments disappear, relationships remain.
Sometimes even the name of a stuffed animal.
