Here’s the Meaning Behind the Google Doodle Celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week

On Monday, instead of some excuse for being late, Google gave teachers a Google Doodle.

The May 7 doodle celebrates Teacher Appreciation Week, otherwise known as National Teacher Day, which is observed in the first full week of May.

Google’s doodle honors – with orange, turquoise and yellow letters – the practice of asking deep and ongoing questions in pedagogy. You’ll even notice something bubbling up in a chemistry beaker, a book, and Saturn along the brightly colorful letters.

Surprisingly, Google didn’t turn to the students to make it.

Instead, Google tapped 55 of the country’s state Teachers of the Year to help create the Monday’s doodle at Google headquarters.

Google’s homepage seeks to respond to the key question “what does it mean to be a teacher?” Ohio’s Teacher of the Year Jonathan Juravich explained the inspiration behind their answer.

“The teachers spoke of connections, the search for answers and the resulting new inquiries. We discussed the journey we take with our students as they process who they are and their place within the world,” he said.

Every day this week, Googles is pledging to double donations made to a single category of classroom projects through DonorsChoose.org.

Watch the companion video of the doodle creation process that Google released below.