US Teacher Appreciation Week Google doodle highlights what it means to be a teacher

Today marks the start of Teacher Appreciation Week across the US. To honor our country’s educators, Google is sharing a doodle on its US home page created around the theme: “What it means to be a teacher.”

The doodle was produced in partnership with the 55 teachers named 2018’s “US State Teachers of the Year” by the Council of Chief State School Officers, a nonprofit organization made up of public officials who head US elementary and secondary school departments. All 55 teachers were invited to Google’s headquarters in January for a workshop, part of which included the teachers working with the doodle team on today’s image.

To create the doodle, the teachers were split into five groups and then each group was tasked to come up with concepts around what it means to be a teacher connected to the letters G-O-O-G-L-E.

“The groups brainstormed, sketched, and developed their plans for their letter, much like what my students and I do every day in my art room,” says Jonathan Juravich, an art teacher from Liberty Tree Elementary in Ohio, who was one of the 55 teachers of the year.

Juravich says, for him, being a teacher is about his connection to his students, letting them know, “I am here with you. Let’s do this together.” The art teacher hopes today’s doodle conveys the idea that “… as teachers, we are a part of the quest for discovery. That we are there to guide, to encourage and to support our students as unique individuals. That this journey is one that is full of challenges, but also joy.”

Here is the full image being shared on today’s Google home page that leads to a search for “US Teacher Appreciation Week”:

You can read more about Juravich’s experience working with the Google doodle team on the Google Doodle blog.