make a difference – Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Garfield Friday – Image Found: http://www.xm105fm.com/2014/01/24/for-the-drive-show-on-your-friday/

Dear Teacher,

For two wonderful, glorious minutes I thought today was Friday. Then like a slap to the face the shock set in that it was merely Thursday. It was like a cold water wake up…but now I am away to my Thursday reality.

That reality is simple:

I am a teacher.
It is a school day.
I have a job to do.
I have minds to mold.
I have hearts with which to connect.
I have students’ needs to meet.
I have arrows to block from my students.
I have monsters that need to be fought for my students.
I have content to teach.
I have concepts to make real.
I have weight that I need to carry for others.
I have lessons that need to be lessened.
I have ideas that need to be thought.
I have thoughts that need to be communicated.
I have too much to do and prioritizing that needs to happen.
I have a future to affect.
I have a world to make better.
I have a difference to make.
I have students who need me.
I have me to be.
I am a teacher.

The thing is, no matter what day of the week it is. You, I, and all teachers have one of the most important jobs in the world. We need to embrace all that we are as educators. I hear others (and myself) complain about all that we have to be for students. I am not talking about standards and administration expectations…I mean all that we have to be for students. We have to give them supplies. We have to make sure the get to where they are going. We have to remind, reteach, and re-give instructions until we can’t take it anymore. We have to be nurses. We have to be moms and dads. We have to be mentors. We have to be protectors. We have to be advocates. We have to be forgiving. We have to be patient. Oh, and we have to be teachers. We have so much that we have to be. It is easy to be overwhelmed.

I need to spend more time embracing these all-too-many roles that I have. I need to remember why I do what I do. It is because I care for my students. If they do not have what they need outside of school in these many parts we have to play, then we need to be those things and do so with pride. This is why we are in this game to start with. We are here to make a difference. We need to make that difference and do so joyfully…even when we are too tired to do so much.

And even when it is not Friday.

You are so awesome. I know you are better at embracing these things than I am. One day I will be as good as you. You are making that difference. You are embracing those roles. You are amazing! Keep on teaching and making a difference, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Okay, I found some time to write a post. I like writing posts more than just doing a picture message like the one I did this morning…though they are fun to do. I did not think I would find the time to write, but I finally did. And I found some really cool inspiration that goes right along with my theme this week! We, you and I, need to change the world. Teachers can do it. We need to!

I was reading through some blogs this afternoon, and I came across this message of connecting with students. It was so perfect. This teacher’s message went hand-in-hand with my challenge from last Friday. I gave us all the challenge, myself included here, to change the world by changing our own world, changing students’ worlds, changing other teachers’ worlds, and changing the worlds of those around us, outside of schools. (How have you been doing with this, by the way?) The blog post I read today hit one of these nails right on the head. To change the lives of students we have got to connect with them!

I know what you are thinking…”Duh! Everyone knows that!”

We do…but do we really? Really, really? Really, really, really?

Our actions show what we truly know…or at least believe.

We might know that we need to connect to students, but if someone were to really judge us by our actions would they think that we really and truly believe that it is vital to connect with students?

Take that honest look in the mirror. What is the answer to that question? And I am not talking connecting with some students. I mean trying to have a connection with every student you teach, at least on some teeny, tiny level?

Is that even possible? To connect with every student?

I think so. But it is hard work. You have to be purposeful. You have to try…every day. Find a way to connect. Find a way to build rapport. Find a way to earn a voice. Once you have that voice with a student, USE IT!

Talk to your students. Tell them the truth. Help them to know what they need to work on. Tell them how smart they are. Teach them how to use that smart. Help them use it. Help them build confidence until they act like they know they are smart and capable.

Change your students’ world:

Connect
Build a Bridge
Cross that Bridge
Change a Mind
Change a Life
Change the World

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)

You can do it. You can connect with every student. You can be an agent of change. You can make a difference that lasts a lifetime. Know you can do this. Act on that knowledge. Start tomorrow (or today, depending on when you read this).

Challenge for Today (whenever you read this): Make a purposeful connection with three students today. You can do it! Will you?

You are so amazing! You are so awesome! Do it…change the world by changing your students’s world. The speed of change is slow because it is done one person at a time. Start making those changes now! You can do it! Keep on teaching and changing the world, Teacher!

Love, Teacher