Some [funny and inspiring] Thoughts on Teaching

Dear Teacher,

This week was full of some heavy posts…inspiring and encouraging, but still heavy.  I thought I might make today a lighter day and celebrate some of what we love about teaching!  And because my post have been longer this week, I am going to have you do more watching than reading.  🙂

Our job is difficult.  We try to use innovative methods and strategies, but sometimes it just doesn’t seem like the kids are getting it.  Sometimes it feels like this…you may or may not remember this Saturday Night Live sketch from the 90’s.  If you have seen it, watch it again and enjoy.  If you haven’t seen it, watch it for the first time and laugh your socks off!  It is hilarious, but it is amazing how it actually feels this way sometimes!  The only difference is that in real life you don’t give up…you don’t give up because you are AWESOME!  🙂

Now, unfortunately, the world at-large thinks that it is really always like this and that we are just flying by the seat of our pants.  But we don’t.  We plan.  We fight.  We do all that we need to do to make the biggest impact we can on students.  It is hard work, and we don’t get paid enough to do it.  That doesn’t matter to us, in the big picture, though because we know we do this for more than money.  Sometimes it is hard to get other people to understand why, though.  Here is another video you may or may not have seen; but you most likely have heard the dinner party story before.  Taylor Mahi does an awesome job of telling the story and showing the passion of why we do what we do.  Have a watch.

To round out this all out, I want to go back to the first video.  That was a comical look at what we do, but I want you to see a teacher’s perspective, someone like us, on what we do day to day…and why we love it.  I found this while I was looking for the Taylor Mahi video.  This is another one by him, and I really think it sums it all up nicely.

You are so awesome.  What you do is hard.  It takes time, it takes heart, it takes grit.  You are good at it.  You are making a difference.  You are a miracle worker, and you are amazing!  Never give up and never surrender to stress that we swim in.  Keep going and keep teaching, Teacher!

Wait…before you go.  I want to give a weekend homework assignment.  Homework over the weekend?  Yes, home work over the weekend!  I want you to go through and find three of your favorite posts here at Dear Teacher/Love Teacher and share them with someone (or a lot of someones).  Share on Edmodo, Facebook, Twitter, email, or how ever else you can.  Then come back here and tell us all the response.  Encouragement is hard to find in our job sometimes, so when we find it we need to share it!

Thank you, Awesome Teacher!  You are the best!

Love, Teacher

PS…Oh, and for those of you who use Edmodo, I have started an Edmodo Group for the daily updates.  This way I will be able to make the “Edmodo blasts” in the Communities few and far between…I don’t know that everyone “loves” them.  🙂