Dear Teacher,
Last week I wrote to you about holding on to the magic that makes you special as a teacher. It is your magic that keeps your students engaged. It is one of the keys to avoiding burnout (at least it can make the burnout take longer). It is what you live for as a teacher when your students minds are blown and they are left with the “aha” moments of learning that stick with them for the rest of their lives.
Yes, your personal magic is pretty important, and you better hang on to it for dear teaching life!
So…
How do you tap into your personal teaching magic and how do you develop it deeper and create more?
As far as the magic that you already contain in the classroom goes, I can’t really help you from here. You have to reflect and think about what it is that the students latch on to and help them connect with you. Is it you dynamic story-telling? Is it how you build relationships? Is it how you know just what to say to make someone feel better about life? Is it how you connect with students that no one else can? Is it how you can make the most mundane and boring subjects come to life? I don’t know, but you can find out if you aren’t sure.
Talk to students.
Take a survey.
Ask other teachers what they hear from students about you.
You may not always like what you hear, but you might be surprised on what you find out students like about you. What they like is probably tied to your magical side.
It can be rough sometimes, but doing the investigative work will help you find what you can build on to make the magic happen time and time again in your class.
Once you find out, then research.
Look for teachers that are good at the same things, and find out what they do and how they use their magic. Magicians learn from magicians and then make the magic their own. Teachers need to do the same.
Research online. Are there teachers and non-teachers that are good at the same brand of magic? What do they do? How do they use their magic in life and work? What makes them magical? How can you replicate and adapt that style of magic for your classroom and students?
Lastly, look for ways to personalize your magic and make it meaningful to your specific students. How can you involve them? How can you make them a part of your “show?” Can you have students share in your magic? Can they be your magician’s assistants? Can you develop some magic apprentices?
I know I am talking in vagaries right now, but that is all I can do because personal magic is, well, personal. It is different from teacher to teacher and class to class. I hope this made sense to you, even so.
I wanted to write a little about how to find more personal magic than you already know, but I think I will save that for later this week. A lot of it is tied to you and what interests you in life. I found out about something amazing this weekend that is directly tied to personal magic, but I want to make it a post all on its own. I will leave you with a link and let you make the connection to personal magic on your own until I am able to write further about it.
You are amazing. You are magical. You do reach your students. You are making a difference! I know you are…even when you don’t feel like it. Never give up and keep on teaching, Teacher!
Love, Teacher
Dear Teacher/Love Teacher 