teacher encouragement – Page 14 – Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Why (Did I Become a Teacher)?

Posted on June 12, 2013June 7, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Let me introduce your Substitute Teacher for today. I am quite excited to share his thoughts with you, because it is different than any other post I have put up so far. It is a “teacher testimony” of sorts. It is the back story of a teacher and why he decided to put the hard work in to become and stay a teacher through all of the ups and downs of teaching. I think you are going to like this one!

Your teacher today is Mr. Tim Sexton. Teacher Tim has been a teacher for the past 15 years and is currently teaching at Davidson Middle School in Crestview, Florida. He believes that all students CAN learn and that it is our job to facilitate their learning. He teaches students to think for themselves and be responsible citizens in the school, the community in which they live and within their own lives.

It was 6 a.m. June 3, 1994, at the end of the graveyard shift of stocking at the local grocery. All night I was thinking of math formulas, biology vocabulary, and other items of testing interest for the second part of my day, college. The store manager had asked me to stay later because it was the July 4^th weekend, and there was still product to put out for the potentially busy weekend. I told the manager that I was unable to stay because I had class at 8 a.m. You could see and hear the frustration as he told me to go to his office; he wanted to talk to me. I opened the door to the office to see him standing there huffing and insisting that I stay later to help out. I repeated, “I can’t”. He asked, “What are you going to school for?”

I told him I was going to school to become a teacher. As he replied while laughing, he said “you know teachers don’t make that much money, right?” I told him without hesitation this reply, “I know, but if I can keep one student off the beaten path I was forced to walk growing up, or see the “LIGHT” come on in the eyes of a student, that is worth any amount of money you can ever pay me.” He had nothing to say after that, and I left that office to continue my pursuit of fulfillment.

Have you forgotten your reason why you do this? Most of us are heading into our summer break tired, run down, and ready to do nothing but re-coop. Think about that question, “Why?” Why do you get up early to go a place that doesn’t seem to appreciate you? Why do you stay late trying to do a little extra for those same people that drove you crazy all day? Why do you make calls to parents who don’t care to talk to you? Why do you keep trying? Well, we do it because we care; we do it because we are called to do so; we do it to make a difference in the lives of young ones where this may be their only chance to find that difference. Take out those letters you have collected throughout the years from former students thanking you for being there, for teaching, for taking the time to say “HI” every day when no one else did. Those are reminders of “WHY” we continue doing what we do.

How do you answer that question? Whether you are a beginning teacher or 15 years into what appears on the outside a thankless profession, Look inside and remember your “WHY”.

Thank you, Teacher Tim! I love this idea of remembering our “WHY,” especially on those tough days!

Teacher, what is your “WHY?” Do you have a back story like this? Do you have a reason for teaching that you can look back to? Have you developed even stronger “WHYs” since you started teaching? I know I have! Please share yours with the class. 🙂 It is encouraging to hear the reasons other people teach, because it reminds you of yours.

You are awesome, Teacher Tim and every other Teacher reading this! You are believed in. You are amazing! Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

For more hope and encouragement: @DearTeacherLT (Twitter) and Dear Teacher/Love Teacher Facebook Page.

General Inspiration, Guest Post, Pep Talk

Just Keep Moving (in the right direction)

Posted on June 11, 2013June 7, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

When I asked people to volunteer to be Substitute Teachers while I am “off the grid,” I had a lot of great responses! I am so grateful and honored by that! Teachers were more than willing to pay forward the encouragement and hope that they have received from people and from this blog. However, something interesting came from the request to for people to share, and it was a response to something that I have done with this blog that I did not think people noticed or cared about, but they did and do (you might, too).

I have made strides to try to keep this as anonymous as possible. Why? I want the message here to be separated from it being just a person trying to encourage other people. I want it to be about teachers encouraging teachers. We are in this together, and it is not about a person or personality. This is one of the reasons I am using Substitute Teachers instead of just setting up a bunch of my own posts to go up while I am away. This is teachers encouraging each other. Teachers looking out and caring for their own!

I say all of this because some of the Substitutes have requested to stay anonymous, like me. Their reasons are the same as mine. I appreciate that, so I am honoring the request. I will only share what I think is important about each…and today’s Sub has one thing I would like you to know about her. She has been teaching for 26 years! I am honored to have such a veteran post here! We can learn so much from those teachers who have been doing this for a long time! I love learning from people who have been doing this for a long time. Read this morning and learn with me. 🙂

Dear Teacher,

I subscribe to Gretchen Rubin’s* Happiness Project blog and her “Moment of Happiness” daily e-mails. Recently, this Oliver Wendell Holmes quote was the thought of the day:

“The great thing in this world is not so much where we stand as in what direction we are moving.” 

This quote reminded me of some experiences I’ve had in teaching. Often at the end of the year I can be discouraged or disappointed by all of the things that didn’t go as well as I’d have liked, or all the ways that I wasn’t as great a teacher as I’d have liked to have been for my students. We teachers want so much to do awesome things for all of our students, but that task can sometimes be impossible to fully achieve.

Then I remind myself that no one is perfect, and that the important thing is wanting to be awesome and being committed to always getting better, becoming a stronger and more effective teacher. After my first, most difficult year as a teacher, I promised myself that I would always work to get better each year, and that as long as I kept that commitment, I would just have to be accept the fact that I hadn’t been the perfect teacher. As Holmes reminds us, it’s the direction we’re moving that is most important.

One of the best things about teaching is that every year there is a fresh start and a new chance to be even better and more awesome for a new group of students. Summer is a great time for thinking about ways to hone our skills. What great ideas would you like to put in place with your next group of students?

You are awesome, Teacher. You are committed to improving your professional practice, and that’s awesome! High five!

Love, Substitute Teacher

** Gretchen Rubin is the author of The Happiness Project and Happier at Home.

For more hope and encouragement: @DearTeacherLT (Twitter) and Dear Teacher/Love Teacher Facebook Page.

Challenge, Guest Post

Teaching as a Lifestyle

Posted on June 10, 2013June 6, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

This is the first in a series of posts by substitute “Love, Teachers”. As you have probably read, I am taking a short hiatus from the blog (as well as anything else school-related). I feel that this is important. Despite popular thought, teachers do not stop for the summer. Often times we work harder during the summer than during the school year. We plan. We go to trainings. We go to workshops. We teach summer school. We tutor. We do any number of things to help students and prepare for the next year. For this reason, I think it is important to force yourself to take a break. That is exactly what I am doing.

That said, let me introduce my new friend, Dubier. Dubier is a Spanish teacher at an international school in Sweden. Yes, with this post, my blog is officially international! Dubier has a blog called I teach with IT. The blog shares his experiences as a teacher that promotes flip teaching, the use of IT and motivation to improve the education for students. Please check it out. I asked him to guest-post because his blog is both encouraging and challenging.

I think this is a great and motivational message, and I hope you agree! Without further ado, let me hand it over to Dubier.

To be a teacher is a lifestyle.

What does it means to be a teacher? Are teachers only a person who goes to work Monday to Tuesday, planning their lessons, teach and goes home afterwards? If I would ask many teachers, they would answer YES to that question. Understand me right, it is their full right to think so but I am of another opinion. I would like to say that to be a teacher are not a role or job for me, to be teacher is a lifestyle. Lifestyle starts from the moment you wake up until you fall asleep. Your lifestyle is not dependent on a location or time schedule, but it continues as long as you are awake.

Many teachers complaints are about the salary, time schedule and that they need to do some extra work for students. Think about teaching as a lifestyle and maybe you would think differently. A lifestyle is something that you choose, to feel good about yourself, and not something you choose to get something in return. The greatest feeling is when you helped students to achieve something that they didn’t think they could just because you as a teacher didn’t just think about your schedule or salary but the student´s best. That is worth all the money or time in the world. don´t you think?

Many teachers could feel very stressed when parents call after working hours. To be honest I am one of them. However we need think about it in another perspective. They are calling us because they think that we are the only one that could help them. They trust us with their children. They are calling us after their working hours when they are tired. They even call sometimes during weekends when they rather doing something fun. What does that cost us? nothing. 5 minutes of our life…..that maybe could help the parents have a great weekend before they start over again on monday. Do we get paid for that? Yes, in satisfaction

To be a teacher is not only about the students and parents. It’s also about your colleagues. In my opinion your responsibility as a teacher is also to be available for your colleagues when they need support and help. Not just during working hours but also outside.

This are few things that is included in my lifestyle. what is included in yours?

Thank you so much, Dubier, for your encouragement and challenge! You are awesome! You are awesome, too, Teacher, as always! Keep on teaching, Teacher Dubier and every teacher everywhere!

Love, Teacher

For more hope and encouragement: @DearTeacherLT (Twitter) and Dear Teacher/Love Teacher Facebook Page.

Handwritten Note, Picture Note, Thank You!

A Personal Note to You, Teacher

Posted on June 7, 2013June 7, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use this picture of you link back to this blog.)

For more hope and encouragement: @DearTeacherLT (Twitter) and Dear Teacher/Love Teacher Facebook Page.

Challenge, Reflection, Teacher

Closing Time…(you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here)

Posted on June 7, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Image found at http://joscafe.com/2012/07/08/closing/closed-sign.

Dear Teacher,

Today is my last day of the school year. It is a teacher work day. It is the day that I close the door on the school year. I can call this one done and look forward to the next.

Part of me wants to say it is bittersweet, but it isn’t. It is just sweet. This has been a good year. As a matter of fact, I can honestly say it has been the best since I have started this crazy teacher ride several years ago. I choose to look back and only see the positives. I can not let the stumbles and falls this year get me down. I need to learn from them and keep running!

As a matter of fact, this new positive attitude is one of the reasons that this has been such a great year. I have learned some vital things throughout the year that I think are necessary to be a teacher for the long haul…and that is what I intend to be. I am sure you have heard these before, but so did I. I think they just have to sink in. Here is another chance for you to see them…maybe they sunk in for you this year like they did for me.

The Stuff I Learned That I Should Have Known:

It is not a sign of weakness to choose to be positive.
Staying positive can be a catalyst to changing the environment among students in my classroom…they learn by watching me…and THEY ARE WATCHING!
Everyone needs encouragement, especially teachers, and even if I am not getting encouragement I can always give it!
Say thank you more often…a thank you can change someone’s day, week, year, or even life!
Never give up doing what is right for others, I never know how far my impact will go.
I need to be the hope that others do not have…my hope can spread to others that then spreads to others…and so on…and so on.
No matter what happens today or happened yesterday, the next day (or next minute) is a new chance to start fresh.
Building relationships with students and fellow teachers is non-negotiable…I can not reach students without having a relationship with them, and I can not do this alone…I need other teachers!
Students can and need to be challenged…and they will rise to my expectations if I let them!

I will probably think of a thousand more things once I click publish, but this is probably enough! Today, as I go in to shut the classroom down for the summer, I need to remember a couple of things. I need to look at the year and choose to celebrate it. I need to see the difference I made and be proud of myself. However, I can not get comfortable. I can not stay in the past. I do not quite have to move on yet…I have the summer for that…but I do need to take stock of what went well and figure out how I am going to move on and move further using the lessons that I learned.

If you are at the end of the year, I hope that you are able to pack up what you have learned and then unpack it to use it to move even further next year! The year is over and it is closing time. You don’t have to stop being nostalgic (and “go home”), but you can’t stay in the memories. Use them to make you even awesomer next year!

You are awesome! I hope your day and weekend are wonderful! You have done a great job this year! Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

For more hope and encouragement: @DearTeacherLT (Twitter) and Dear Teacher/Love Teacher Facebook Page.

How Are You Awesome? Let Me Count The Ways…

Image• Posted on June 6, 2013June 7, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Hope for Teachers, Reflection, You Are Awesome!!!

The Ripple Effect

Posted on June 6, 2013August 19, 2015 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

You never really know your impact on others. Sometimes you get to see some of how what you do effects people, but you will never really get to know all of the effects of how what you do changes and and impacts other people. Everything that you do for other people is like dropping a rock in a pond. The effect is immediate at the point where you drop it, but that energy is sent out as ripples and waves throughout the rest of the pond (or at least much further out than the area where the rock went).

This can be viewed in a positive or negative light, but you know I am going to talk about the positive!

Yesterday, I had the honor of seeing the immediate reaction of a note of encouragement to a colleague. It was awesome. Without knowing it, what was said were words that were needed at a timely moment for someone. I got a thank you, a hug, and was told the effects that my words had (and we seldom get to have that). This was quite awesome for me to be able to see the “drop in the pond.”

However, I will never get to see the effects of that splash. The encouragement and “energy” was passed from me to another teacher, but what happened afterwards? Was there a chain reaction that went from the teacher to students and other teachers? Was the energy then moved from them to others? And then to other people…then others…and others…and…well, you get the point.

We just do not know our true impact! This is one of the reasons our job can be draining. We know the potential for all of the little and big things that we do, but we do not always get to see how that potential plays out. We do not get a results report that shows all of our effects on the lives of students and other teachers. I tell you, though, your effects are big, Teacher! You are making an impact, and it stretches far down the line!

I am so talking to myself right now. I am facing the last day with students for the year. It is hard. I do not know all of the good that I have past on down to my students. I will miss them, but more than that I wish I knew if all my hard work will pay off in their lives. I can say that I know it was all worth it. The ripples will be felt, even if not by me.

So keep on doing all that you do, Teacher! No matter what is going on in your life, put on that positive face. Smile. Say thank-yous. Do something awesome for someone else. Love on your students. Be hopelessly hopeful. As a friend of mine says, “Give hugs when necessary.” Be your normal awesome to your students and fellow teachers. And keep on doing all of the little and big things you always do. You never know what these things are doing for others, but always know that you are making a difference!

For instance, I do not know if you are getting tired of me saying this or not, but you are awesome! You are believed in! You are affecting me and others in ways you just do not and will not know. Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

PS…Sorry for all of the links today, I am trying out something new…a way to weave in older messages that newer readers may have missed. Hey, maybe you needed some reminders of things said here before, anyway. I know I do! 🙂

For more hope and encouragement: @DearTeacherLT (Twitter) and Dear Teacher/Love Teacher Facebook Page.

Note from Student, Picture Note, You Are Awesome!!!

The Thank You Note You May Never Get

Posted on June 5, 2013June 5, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Your students love you and know that you care. They think you are awesome, but sometimes they just don’t have the words or know-how to let you know. So, because of that, I wrote the note that they feel about you but may never write. They notice all that you do. One day they will look back and see you as one of the main influences in their lives. You may never get this card, but it is very true! Please read and let it be from the students you have struggled with the most to reach, connect, and help them reach some of their potential. Let this be their words to you.

You are awesome! Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

(c)DearTeacherLT (You may use this picture if you link back to this blog.)

For more hope and encouragement: @DearTeacherLT (Twitter) and Dear Teacher/Love Teacher Facebook Page.

Challenge, Thank You!, You Are Awesome!!!

The Joy of Thanks Giving

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

I bet you had to look at the title twice, didn’t you? 🙂 I know it is June and not November…this post is not about the holiday. It is about thanks…giving it and getting it. We all need a thank you and we all have many thank-yous to give out.

I warned you that most of my posts would be about looking back at the school year this week. This one came from reflecting (or refracting) on the school year, but it does apply to everyone in any stage of a “teacher year.” Thankfulness is an anytime kind of subject. We all need to increase our thinking of thank-yous most of the time.

We all hate the feeling of not getting a thank you. We don’t do what we do for a thank you, but it is so nice to hear one once in a while. Thank-yous help us know that what we have done is appreciated and accepted by those for whom we are helping or doing something. They validate the effort we give. They help encourage us to keep doing whatever we are doing. A thank you is just, well, nice.

Teachers do not get a lot of thank-yous. We knew it was a pretty thankless job when we signed up for this. We don’t complain about not hearing the words, but inside we secretly wish to hear one more often. It is not a big deal, but it would just be helpful to hear.

Think about it. If you feel that way, who around you might feel that way? Sure, you are not getting a thank you right now, but could you give one? You know your fellow teachers would like to hear one. Tell them. Find something to thank them for, and be personal about it! Find something they did for you are that they are doing for a student and say thank you. Say it. Write it. Buy a card. You don’t know how much it will encourage them…actually, you know exactly how much it will encourage them! So you be the thank-er at you school!

Thank other people, too. Find some students that are doing great things. Thank them. Go to your administration and thank them for everything that they do. You think you have a thankless job? They hear it a lot less than you do! Go to the school receptionist, administrative assistant, custodians, school maintenance, school nurse, cafeteria workers, and any of the other many thankless people at your school and say a big THANK YOU! You know they would love to hear it!

You may not hear thank you enough, but are you giving them enough? Who do you need to say thank you to right now? Go do it! Think of three people to thank today, thank them, and then come back here and tell us all about it. You are awesome, so be awesome to others!

Before I close this post out, I need to give a thank you. Last night, this blog officially crossed the Over 10,000 Views mark! I started this blog/encouragement revolution just a little more than three weeks ago, and you all have already pushed it to that benchmark. You all are awesome! Thank you for sharing the blog with others! Thank you for all of the “likes” and shares to other sites! Thank you for all of the Facebooking, Tweeting, Edmodo-ing, Pinning, and emailing of this encouragement to others! It means a lot to have this message of hope affecting and helping others remember why they teach and that they are good teachers. I love sending this message…thank you for passing the message on! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

Teacher, thank you for letting me be a part of your teaching life! Thank you for being the awesome teacher that you are! Thank you for just being you! Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

For more hope and encouragement: @DearTeacherLT (Twitter) and Dear Teacher/Love Teacher Facebook Page.

Hope for Teachers, Pep Talk, Reflection

Remembering What You Forgot

Posted on June 4, 2013June 5, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

When I was a kid, I loved the idea of amusement parks and carnivals. There was something so exciting and a bit surreal about them. The colors, the sounds, the smells…it was like another world. They made me feel alive, and the energy a trip to one brought would last for a long time…until normal life pushed the memories away and everything was back to the same-old, same-old.

What is amazing is that even now, as an adult, even just seeing an amusement park or carnival brings back some of that same exhilaration. Not exactly the same energy as experiencing it as a child or actually being there, but the memories come rushing back and there is a little surge of that excitement that wells up. I know that someone could probably explain the brain processes that cause this, but I prefer to just enjoy the rush of memories! It makes me feel like a kid again, especially if it is with one of my kids.

I am, and a lot of you are, in the throws of finishing up the school year or have just finished. We are tired, beat-up, over-whelmed, stressed, sad, and focused on getting everything done. This is draining. Though we love our students, we get lost in the details and sometimes are just looking at the light at the end of the tunnel and forgetting the reason we are doing this in the first place.

Okay, well I don’t know if you feel that way, but yesterday was like that for me. The thrill and joy of teaching the students this year was replaced by the stress of the monotony of crossing every “t” and dotting every “i” at the end of the year. I was worn out by evening and pre-stressing over the details of the next day. When I woke up this morning, I realized I was missing something…my students.

I was forgetting that they are why I am looking for “t’s” and “i’s” to cross and dot! They are facing the end of the school year. They are excited. They are sad. They are nervous. They are ecstatic. They are a ball of emotions and they need their teacher there to understand and go through these emotions with them! I need to remember them. They are my reason for teaching. I need to find a way to push through the stress and be the teacher they need me to be.

Like seeing, hearing, or smelling carnival colors, sounds, and smells take me back to that excitement, I need to find reminders of the thrills of teaching my students this year. I need to look at them and see the awesomeness that they are and tell them. I need to talk, laugh, and cry with them. I have only a couple of days left. I need to enjoy this time with them, even through the stress!

Are you in the same place with this? Did you just experience this? How are you do you deal with the closing of the year but still trying to focus on your students? Please share, for the good of the group! 🙂

Teacher, I know you make the right choices. You put your students first. You push through the monotony and find a way to love on your kids and let them know you care. You are awesome! Keep teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

PS…I will be taking a two week sabbatical from the blog. If you would be interesting in guest-posting (for my blogging friends) or just writing a message to pass on encouragement and hope while I am out, please let me know your interest and/or pitch me your idea via email: dearteacher@outlook.com. Thanks! I could use the help and teachers need your encouragement!

For more hope and encouragement: @DearTeacherLT (Twitter) and Dear Teacher/Love Teacher Facebook Page.