A fast-food chain. I was standing in line, waiting for my Oreo milkshake. There was a group ahead of me, with ages ranging from mid-twenties to mid-sixties, all dressed nicely. Mostly women.
The older group members were wearing pearls and blouses. The younger ones wore modern hairstyles, jeans, and tattoos. They were all teachers.
“It’s Teacher Appreciation Week,” one teacher explained. “We’re here because we get free stuff.”
“They give us free burgers today,” said another excited teacher.
“This is a fun week for a teacher,” added another woman. “They have buy-one-get-one deals at all the good restaurants if you show your school ID. My husband is going to take me out every night this week. He just doesn’t know it yet.”
Turns out, the deals for teachers are never ending. All over the US, teachers are getting major discounts and freebies this week.
At Barnes and Noble, for example, all teachers get free coffees. At most franchise fast-food joints teachers get free fries, burgers, tots, hot dogs, sandwiches, shakes, cookies, ice cream, and apple pies.
There are companies offering discounted Caribbean cruises, half-price cellphone plans, and even free underpants.
There are deals to be had at AT&T, Michael’s, Levi’s, Vineyard Vines, J. Crew, Verizon, and of course, Crocs.
This week at Office Depot, teachers get 20 percent off. At Dollar General, teachers get 5 percent off for a whole month. And at select local restaurants, teachers receive free fishbowl Margaritas the size of above-ground kiddie pools.
“But they only give you one Margarita,” said a teacher. “And that’s not nearly enough for a teacher.”
While my Oreo delight was being whipped to perfection, I asked several of them how they entered into education.
“Oh, I always knew I wanted to be a teacher,” says one. “My mom says I used to line up my dolls in my room like students and boss them around.”
“I was a music major,”…