teacher note – Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Choose Positive, General Inspiration, Hope for Teachers, Note to Teachers

Teacher, I See Your True Colors

Posted on April 14, 2016 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

I really wanted to write to you this morning. I know that this has been a difficult and trying time for you. This time of the year usually is. I have been thinking and trying to come up with some way to remind you how awesome you are and encourage you to keep going and keep fighting…and I did.

It is time for something I haven’t done in a while – a theme song post. If you have never read one of my theme song posts, all you have to do is click play on the video and read. If you can’t read with music on, listen to the song and then read. Got it? Good! Let’s go!

Teacher…no one really knows but us what it is like. Teaching is one of the roughest roads that someone can choose to go down. It has a bright destination, but it sure can be a dark path sometimes. There is no sugar-coating it. Teaching is tough.

As teachers, we are fighting for the lives and futures of our students. That is no small thing. With just that, we are battling some pretty scary and menacing enemies.

On top of that, add the fact that we have “friendly enemies.” Well meaning people who are trying to make education better are making it quite difficult to do what we need to do to reach those minds in our classrooms.

And then there is the standardize testing…and I will just leave that without comment. Too much to say…

It can feel like the job of teacher is an impossible task…and it is…it is for anyone besides you.

Listen, Teacher, you were and are cut out for this. You are amazing!

In everything mentioned above, you keep going. You keep trying. You keep fighting. Because in your heart of hearts you know that you were made for this.

You are a fighter and this is your battle.

It can be a long, grueling skirmish…the enemies surround you…you feel alone in the fight…

But something clicks in for you. You remember who you are fighting for…and it is not for you. It is for people, young people, who can’t fight for themselves. This sparks something deep inside of you and gives you the will and strength to forge ahead.

This is who you are. These are your true colors.

Not everyone can see them, but I do. They are shining through…and they are shining brightest in the lives of your students now and tomorrow.

Those true colors are beautiful. Like a rainbow.

You are making a difference, Teacher! The stands you make are worth it. The time, energy, and tears are planting seeds in the minds of your students. And those seeds are growing!

Don’t lose heart, Teacher. Don’t give up. You are fighting a good fight. Keep on fighting and keep on teaching! You rock!

Love, Teacher

General Inspiration, Hope for Teachers, Pep Talk

An Open Letter to Teachers…Don’t Lose Hope

Posted on April 4, 2016May 12, 2016 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

You are beat up and beat down. You are worn out. You are worn down. This has been one of the toughest and roughest years of your career.

You don’t know if you can do this anymore.

Somewhere in and through the stress of students, parents, administration, and the system, you have lost sight of why you are doing this. You don’t see the difference you intended to make. You can’t see the forest. You can’t see the trees. You only see dwindling patience, one more student that doesn’t have a pencil, and another email about lesson plans that you haven’t turned in yet.

You are at the end of your rope and it is becoming more and more tempting to just let go.

You are losing your grip.

While you contemplate how much the fall will hurt, can I just tell you something…well, a few somethings?

First thing that you need to know is that you are absolutely, one hundred and fifty percent not alone. More teachers feel this way this year than don’t, I think. It is a common thought and feeling.

DearTeacherLT2016 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)

Even if it doesn’t fee like it, other teachers are going through exactly what you are right now. Probably other teachers in your school…most likely the teacher in the room next door.

I know it is kind of messed up that a lot of teachers are in the same boat…but at least you don’t have to be alone in this.

And that is great, but what do we do about it?

We need to remember that the education system is not why we got into this business…we went through the trouble of becoming a teacher because we actually care about students and their future. The system is what is wearing us out, but the students are who are keep us in.

Unfortunately, we are bound by the system. How do we work within it to make the biggest difference in the lives of those learners in our classrooms?

I think it all comes down to spending a bit of time before each school day remembering why we teach. It means thinking about each student (or some of them each day, if you teach multiple classes). We have to remember that each of those souls are people and that we actually care about them and where they are going in life.

If we do that, it will lead us to think more carefully about our decisions in the classroom. We will be driven to take stands for what is best for students. We will fight for what is right. We will truly differentiate for each child and what they need from us.

As that happens, our teacher heart will start to beat again. We will find our passion again for teaching. We will be ready to change the world all over again.

I know this is all easier said than done, but I think it is time we start doing what we know needs to be done. I think it is time to be brave and bold…for our students good and for ours.

You are a TEACHER! You actually do know what you are doing most of the time. You know your students and care about their lives. You know how to make classroom decisions. You are courageous! You are strong! You are intelligent! You matter to the future of your students and you are making a difference!

Remember why you do what you do and that you are not alone in this. Be brave and do what needs to be done. You will be happier in the long-run because you are doing what are made for!

You are amazing! You are awesome! Thank you for all that you do! Remember that you can do anything for a year, and this year is almost done. You’ve got this! Don’t give up! Keep on persevering and keep on teaching, Teacher! You rock!

Love, Teacher

General Inspiration, Hope for Teachers, Mondays, Note to Teachers, Pep Talk, Perseverance

[put your teaching heart in] Drive

Posted on August 17, 2015August 17, 2015 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

You know, what we do is amazing. We are teachers! We get to help students become the people they will be in the future. We get to live in the teachable moments of every day. It is a pretty great line of work!

I have shared it before, but last year was a tough year for me. I won’t get into it now, however it was a difficult year with students and then to top of it test scores might have been the lowest for me. Even though I felt like it may my best year as a teacher after working through the challenges, I can’t help but wonder if it was a net loss of a year. I don’t know.

I share that because I stumbled on a great song accidentally because of Twitter (by the way, if you aren’t using Twitter, you should be…I am working on a post on the whys…if you are on it, you should be following Sean Gaillard, Remind, Dear Teacher (of course), among many others!). Through a random set of events, I was introduced to the music of Shayna Leigh and the song I am about to share. When I heard it, I knew that I found the perfect song for the first theme song post of the new year! That said, let’s get to the encouragement!

If you aren’t familiar with how theme song posts work, click play on the song (get through any ads if they play first), and then start reading. Get it? Got it? Good. Let’s go!

We are teachers.

We carry so much with us from day to day, quarter to quarter, and year to year.

All careers have baggage, but probably none more than being a teacher.

We invest so much of who we are into what we do.

Sometimes it can be hard to recover from the hurt of some of the hard times that come with what we do.

That hurt can weigh us down and cause fear from stepping out to far outside of the box or outside of our comfort zone.

We fight against that fear, but it always seems to be there. It is just on the periphery. It stalks us. It taunts us. Occasionally, it overwhelms us. Other times it drives us to push forward and do more.

The anxiety does not define us, but it does hang out around us.

Some days and years are worst than others.

But there is a way to drive it away.

And it is so simple that it is hard to do.

Remember.

Remember who you were when you started teaching.

You were nervous, but when it came to students you were fearless.

Remember that new teacher that was ready to set the world on fire and change the future single-handedly!

That person is still inside of you. That person is still you. You are still fearless. You still have the fire.

Rekindle that fire and remember.

You believed every student mattered and you acted on that belief.
You did not care what other people thought, you did what counted most for students.
You did not worry about test scores because what really made the difference was your connection with students.
You focused on the teaching and learning process individually, not what you were being told worked best for all.
You let love and care for each of those people in your room drive your instruction and behavior.
You believed that what you did with each child truly made a difference.
You had confidence in yourself and your gifts/skills as a teacher.

All of those things are still true. That never stopped being true. The baggage of prior years and yesterdays mistakes do not define you. Your drive and love for students does…and that is still there. Remember it today!

Teacher, drive back to where you started. That is where you live as a teacher. And that is what will get you back on your feet to try again.

You are an amazing teacher! Never forget that! You are making a difference and what you do does matter! It matters more than you know! Keep on believing in yourself and keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

Cheer Up, General Inspiration, Hope for Teachers, Note to Teachers, Reflection

So, You’ve Had a Week from…Well, You Know…

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

If you are like a lot of other teachers that I have talked to this week, you may have just had a pretty rough week. It was pretty mediocre for me, but I have had a bad week or two recently, as well.

Fridays of bad weeks can be good and bad. They are great because the week is over. They really stink because you have to take stock of the week and figure out what went wrong.

If the week was bad enough, we probably lost our cool and did some things that we aren’t quite proud of…poor reactions, poor choices, etc… Fridays like that are even worse. We have to deal with the week and deal with ourselves. Never, ever, ever fun.

So, for those that had a long week, let’s have a theme song post. Click play and then read on.

Teacher, your job is hard.

You have so much to deal with every day.

It seems like the days that go bad, go bad in almost every way possible.

One bad day can lead into another…and another…and before you know it, you have had a bad week.

Bad weeks happen. They happen to the best and worst of us. They bring out the worst in us…but don’t forget, they also bring out the best of us.

“What do you mean, teacher-who-obviously-did-not-have-a-bad-week?”

I know that you don’t want to think about it today, at the end of your awful week, but bad days and weeks teach us more than the good ones.

We learn what doesn’t work.
We learn what some of our “triggers” are.
We learn what we need to avoid.
We learn that the students may nor have learned as we thought they did.

Not only that, weeks after bad weeks always seem to help us get stronger as a teacher. We dig in, we find a way to keep moving and keep going, and we find ways to try to avoid weeks like we just had.

We learn new strategies because we had to work so hard just to get through the week.
We learn that we had resources that we did not know that we had.
We learn that we are stronger than we thought we were.
We learn that we have students that cared about our bad weeks (when they come and say that they are glad the next week is going better for us).
We learn that we have colleagues that actually do care about us (even if it is just one or two).
We learn that we love teaching as much as we thought we did, even though we hated it the week before (the bad week).

There is a silver lining, Teacher. Even if you don’t see it now, it is there.

It is okay to bemoan your bad week. It is human. Hate this week. Wish it never happened. Lick your wounds and do what you need to do, just don’t stay there.

Find the strength. Find a way. Move on. Use this week to become the awesome teacher that you are and can be.

Bad weeks suck, but we need them. You can get through this.

And never forget…you are not there for you. You are at your school and in your classroom for your students.

They matter most.

They are your motivation to get through this.

You can do it.

You are awesome! I know this week was bad, but you can and will keep moving. Even in this horrible week, you made a difference…even if you don’t know it now. Keep going. Never give up. Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

Cheer Up, General Inspiration, Hope for Teachers, Note to Teachers, Picture Note, Poster/Graphic

What You Are Today…

Posted on September 16, 2014 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

(c)DearTeacherLT2014 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)…oh, and I made this using http://www.piktochart.com…check them out, too.

Challenge, General Inspiration, Hope for Teachers, Note to Teachers

New Start – New Year

Posted on July 6, 2014July 6, 2014 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

I know that you haven’t heard from me in quite some time. I am sorry for that. Know that I am still here and that you are still awesome! I haven’t given up on you and I haven’t given up on me. Time away was needed, but now I am back.

I know that it is summer (for my Northern Hemisphere teacher friends), but I also know that you are a great teacher. You are already thinking about next year. You have had a few weeks of a break and now you are thinking about the students that will be sitting in the desks that sit in your classroom. This is what makes you great.

You can’t stop your “teaching brain,” and this is a good thing.

The other night, I was playing Jenga with my son. We had some nice rounds of moving the blocks, but in the end the tower always tumbled.

When I looked at the pieces after one long match, it hit me that no matter how the game went it always ended but no matter how it ended we can always rebuild and start again.

Isn’t that the same with life?

No matter how things go, things always end. No matter how things end, we can always start again.

This applies even more so with teaching. Jenga is a pretty great analogy to our profession, if you think about it.

We start the year as a strong tower, ready to go. Through the year we go through times of being taken apart and put back together. In the end, no matter what, we feel like a puddle of bricks (in some way or another) ready for a reboot. We take the summer and rebuild so that we can start again.

Teacher, I don’t know how last year ended for you. I don’t know what kind of mess your bricks are in. I don’t know how worn your blocks are. But you can rebuild. You can start again. You will start again.

Take the rest of the summer and try to build your tower stronger. Relax. Reflect. Rebuild. Think about what went right and what went wrong. Look for what you could do better. Research a little. Read a lot. Find new ways to do the old stuff. Be a better tower…even if you know it will just be blocks and bricks at the end of the next year.

This is what you do. This is who you are. And you are AWESOME at it. Keep going and never give up!

Build, Teacher. Build.

Your are awesome! I totally believe in you! Have a great rest of the summer and build that tower better than ever! Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Love, Teacher

General Inspiration, Hope for Teachers, Note to Teachers, Picture Note, Poster/Graphic, Reflection

Well Done!

Posted on November 9, 2013November 9, 2013 by Dear Teacher/Love Teacher

Dear Teacher,

Same message as yesterday and last weekend…don’t forget to see the good and positive along with the “needs work” areas as you reflect on the week. You had some awesome in you this week and do did your students. Don’t forget to celebrate and take a little bow. You deserve to and have earned it! You rock because you are awesome! Keep on teaching, Teacher!

Share this encouragement with another teacher. He or she deserves it, too!

Love, Teacher