Today, step out in faith. You know your students. You know what they know, need to know, and how to get from point A to point B. This is what you do. This is who you are. You are a teacher. You teach. And you’re good at it, I might add.
I know, I know. There are a lot of voices. There are a lot of expectations. There are a lot of opinions, best practices, and researched-based strategies. But…you are the one that knows what you do best and what your students need from you.
I am not saying do not try what you learn in PD, from books, and the latest post from Edutopia. By all means, try strategies and ideas to make your teaching better. BUT, I am saying, be guided in your decisions by the one thing you have that is better than anyone else’s ideas or opinions…knowledge of your students.
You know what you need to do. You know what resources you need to seek out. You know what needs to be tried for the sake of your students. You are the key to it all.
Be confident. Take a stand for what needs to happen in your classroom. Do what needs to be done. Advocate for your students and teach the way that they need you to teach.
Will you have to defend yourself? Yes.
Will you have to take a little flack? Of course.
Will you be worn out, beat up, and beat down? Probably.
Will it be worth it? Eventually…and you may not see the payoff yourself.
Why do it then? Because you are a teacher and this is what you do. You care for your students. You want them to reach their potential. You are willing to pour yourself out for your students.
Teacher, you know how to teach YOUR students. Teach them well. Do not be afraid to teach the way that needs to be taught. You’ve got this!
You are awesome! You know what to do. Do it. Teach your heart out today and keep on teaching, Teacher!
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
Dear Teacher,
I was going to take a break from writing over Thanksgiving break, but I had a rough day on Tuesday (the last day of school for me before break) so I have been reflective. My reflections have been some thoughts that I really feel like I should write down. Writing helps me process them and will make them real to me. I decided to write them to you because, maybe, you are going through something similar and need some similar encouragement and thoughts.
This is one of those times that I am writing to myself and letting you listen in. Eavesdrop away, Teacher.
Too often I let myself get wrapped up in the actions, behavior, and/or attitude of one or a small handful of students. I let this small cluster change my day and change my attitude because of these students. I let this affect how I am feeling and change my behavior, actions, and reactions towards other students and my coworkers. I let this make me feel like a failure. I let this make me feel like a bad teacher. I let this make me doubt my choices the led to becoming a teacher at all.
These feelings do not last long, but they are nonetheless real. The feelings do affect me. They really do. Even if they are short-lasted, they do take a toll on me from time to time.
I know I shouldn’t let this happen. I know that letting one or a few students make me go down this road is not productive. But it happens. Every year. At least once or twice. The cycle begins and I have to work through it.
If I know that this cycle is not productive, why do I keep letting myself get forced into it? Do I have to go through this cycle? Do I have to let the few students affect how I am with the many other students that are learning and doing the right things every day? Do I need to go through this cycle of doubt and wonder about my choices?
If not, how do I avoid it?
Don’t get me wrong, reflection and analyzing what we do and say is important. It is vital. I am not saying that. I know that doubt can make you stronger when you work through it. I am just talking about the cycle that a handful of students can take you down where this few makes you feel like a failure as a teacher. Where your focus is on them and not the rest of your students who are thriving in your class. (I guess I should mention that it is not always the student that makes you feel like a failure…sometimes it is a parent like happened for me last year.)
So, how do I avoid this?
Today being Thanksgiving gave me a thought. Maybe one tool that helps here, one weapon in this battle, is thankfulness. Gratitude. The attitude of taking stock of what is going well instead of what is not.
Being thankful for the good things takes your focus off of what is going wrong. It puts into perspective that things really aren’t that bad and you that you can build on those things that are going great. It lets you see the “silver lining” and move on. Thankfulness lets the not-so-great things roll off your back like water off of a duck.
Being a thankfully reflective teacher can change you…especially in the moment when one or few students make you feel like you aren’t doing a good job.
Really? Can it be that simple?
I don’t know that this is all of it, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. A big step in that direction. As I have thought about this on this Thanksgiving morning, some of my stress from Tuesday has started to melt away. Not all of it, but a lot of it. It is changing my attitude. It is changing me. It is letting me remember why I do what I do and put up with what I put up with.
It is refilling my patience. That is a feat that is hard to do in the thick of a school year! I will be honest, it helps that I have a break from school…but I still needed a patience refill!
So, what can we be thankful for as teachers?
I am just going make a quick “Thankful List” for me. You can be thankful for whatever you need to be thank for…it sounds simplistic, but I think it will make a difference for you as it has for me. What are you teacher-thankful for?
My Thankful Teacher List
I have a job. That is important. Not all teachers have one right now.
I work at a great school with great teachers. ‘Nuff said. 🙂
I am on the best team of teachers at a school of great teachers.
I have wonderful, amazing students.
I have students who actually care when I am having a bad day.
I have students succeeding in my class who have had little success in school to this point (and I teach 6th grade).
I have students whose behavior has improved immensely and they are really starting to take their job as a student seriously.
Almost all of my students are interested in science, even if they haven’t been until this year (I teach science).
Most of my students work, cause no problems, and are improving in their ability to think and learn on their own.
I get to teach science to middle-schoolers, which is an amazing job to have!
I have a few students who work hard just because they know I care for them and want them to succeed.
Even those giving me a hard time will come around at some point.
I work with teachers who will help me become a better teacher.
I know I said it already, but I have amazing students.
Wow, I am glad I wrote those out instead of just thinking them. I feel so much better. Thankfulness does change you! Can you do the same? Write out a list of what you are thankful for in your classroom and with your students. You don’t have to do it here, but you can if you would like!
Let gratitude change your attitude.
I know that sounds cheesy, but it does work! 🙂
Happy Thanksgiving, Teacher! If you aren’t from the US…Happy Thursday!
You are amazing! You are awesome! You are getting through to your students. Don’t give up! Keep on teaching, Teacher!
How was your week? Was it a rough one? Was it a “blah” one? Was it the best week ever?
Looking back is a part of our job. It is a part of what we do. It is a part of who we are. It is a vital function to the process of teaching. We have to do it. Good or bad, we have to analyze the week. What went wrong? What went right? What worked? What didn’t? Where did you thrive? Where did you fall on your face?
Reflection can be hard. It is hard to relive the week, sometimes. But we need to do it. We have to. As painful as it can be, we have to go through it day by day. This is the only way to become a better teacher and let your awesome shine in the weeks to come.
As you look back, though, focus. What matters most? What are the most important things that you need to do in your role as a teacher at your school (and any other roles that you might have)? What do your students need most? What do they need to learn? What do they need to learn about learning for themselves? What do your students need outside of learning? What do they need to become better, independent Earth dwellers one day?
What does your school need from you most? What do your colleagues need from you? What does your family need from you? What do you need from you? I mean truly need.
What matters most?
Let what matters most be the mirror that you judge yourself by. There are so many little things, the minutia of teaching, that can get us wrapped around the axle of the teacher’s life. These things can stress us out. These are the things that wipe us out. These are the things that can lead to burnout quickest. These are the things that don’t lead to what matters most.
Fun=House Mirror
Don’t reflect by these muddle puddles. They are fun-house mirrors. They are not a real reflection of you as a teacher. They do not show you who you really are. They are a false reflection. Don’t judge yourself by these things! Easier said than done, but you are going to have to let those things go.
Let them go.
Let them go.
Let them go.
Focus.
What matters most?
Use the “matters most” for reflection. How was your week when you look at those things? What do you need to change? What are you doing well? How will you make the “matters most” matter more next week?
Mirror – Ikea
Look back, Teacher. How are you doing? How was this week?
You are awesome! You know what matters most. You know how to let the other stuff go. You are making a difference…what matters most is your goal. This makes you amazing! Keep on focusing and keep on teaching, Teacher!
Yesterday I mentioned that I was feeling a bit overwhelmed with the many things to do and the lack of time to get them done. Today is not much different…well, in a way it is worse because a pending “one more thing on my plate” has been served to me so I am balancing yet one more responsibility in my now exhausted arms. BUT, I did feel that I needed to write today. I am talking to myself today, but you are welcomed to listen in. 🙂
Sharks are awesome. Not that it needed to be said, but it is so very true. Sharks are cool. I have thought so since I was a kid. I never really grew out of it. Then again, who has? There is a reason that Shark Week has been going strong for all of these years.
I have a renewed love of sharks as this is my second year teaching animals (I am a Science teacher). Sharks are a fascinating fish, creature of the sea, and inhabitant of our little blue planet. There are so many types and each group is different from the others. They cannot be lumped all together and very few assumptions about sharks are true for all of them. Each shark species has its own interesting characteristics and quirks.
One of these quirks you may or may not know about, and it came to mind today as I was think about how I feel like I have so much to do that I don’t know where or how to start. Some sharks, especially the bigger predators have to keep swimming to live. Without movement water does not move through their gills. Without water in the gills oxygen cannot be taken in. Without oxygen, respiration stops. Without respiration, well, RIP Mr. or Mrs. Shark.
Movement is necessary. Movement is vital. Movement is non-negotiable. Movement is life.
If the Great White does not swim, the Great White will die. Sure, it is the big bad fish of the ocean that can take on almost any challenger (I know, other nerd-types like me, Tiger Sharks are actually the most dangerous predator…just let me keep writing). Sure the Great White is one of the most feared creatures in the world. Sure, none can stand (or swim) with it present and not be pretty fearful. However, even the mighty Great White is powerless without movement. It has to swim. Just like Dory, Great White need to “just keep swimming.”
You probably see where I am taking this. I think Teachers are awesome. We are the sharks of society. I don’t mean that in the classical metaphor of “shark” for a person. I mean that we are a group that is very often misunderstood. We can’t be pigeon-holed together as one type of teacher. We are all different. We are not the same. We have our own characteristics and quirks.
We are also ferocious. We, in society, are taking on foes that few people want to fight. We are fighting illiteracy, poverty, neglect, low-self esteem, triggers that lead students in to gangs, environments that can lead to drugs, and so many other things that a list is impossible. We are big, bad sharks. We are like Great Whites in this way. We are fighters. We do what few others can.
Yet, we need to remember to keep swimming. We have to. It is the only way to stay alive. We have to move. We have to keep moving. We can’t be overwhelmed. We will drown. We will die as teachers. We have to keep moving, swimming, and going.
So, when there are a million things to do, pick the most important, choose a direction, and then get going. Do something. Do not stay still. Move! Go! Swim!
You can do this! You are the shark! Start swimming today, keep going, and don’t stop. You’ve got this. Today is yours.
Just keep swimming!
Swimming Shark
You are awesome! You are a shark in the lives of your students, in a good way. You are fighting battles that they cannot fight on their own. You are also busy, tired, and overwhelmed. Don’t give up! You are too amazing to give up! Just keep swimming and keep on teaching, Teacher!
Wake up and roar! (c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
Dear Teacher,
Monday again. Get pumped up. You’ve got this. Today is yours. This week is yours. You are a teacher…Mondays are your day to shine!
For that reason, you need a theme song. You need to let this week know that you are coming. It is time for the “You” show. This theme is your song and your introduction to the week.
I have your theme ready, but this week is going to be a little different. Before I let you click play, I have something for you to read first.
I knew what song I wanted to feature this morning, but when I went on a video search I came across a cover of this song, and an amazing, heart-breaking, and inspiring story. I decided that even though the music side of this version is not as powerful, the story behind this one makes this version a thousand times more inspiring, I think as teachers, this one is going to make us face the week even more courageous than we would have without reading, seeing, and hearing it.
I want you to read this before playing the song. It is the description from YouTube. It tells the story of Olivia Wise. It tells why this song was recorded and presented on YouTube. Please read and be inspired.
Olivia Wise has Brain Cancer. She came into a recording studio for her first time and recorded the Katy Perry song Roar. She couldn’t walk or stand, she didn’t have her full breath or the energy she used to, and she was managing her new pains and new limitations. While her physical condition was rapidly fading, her spirit remained untouched.
Olivia is a fighter and has gone through the fire, in fact, she was going through the fire while she recorded this song, but you wouldn’t know it, because she was dancing right through it. She is an inspiration, a champion, and my hero. This is her Roar.
Here is a CNN story about her and her recording of the song.
I am not sure what I can say after this story. I am not sure if I need to say anything.
What worries you?
What stresses are you dreading this week?
What pressures are you feeling?
What makes you anxious?
Do these things matter in the grand scheme of things? Do they need to own your energy and patience? Do they need to master you? Do they need to break you this week?
What is most important? What matters most? What deserves your time and energy? What deserves you and your life?
Focus on what really matters. Focus on your students. Focus on your fellow teachers. Focus on your family. Focus on what helps you be there for others. Focus on you (in a good way).
After hearing what others are going through and fighting through, it really gives us perspective on ourselves. Really, what is it that truly matters?
What is the big picture? What, if we think about it, won’t matter later? Can we let those things go? Can we at least put them on the back burner?
I want to challenge you this week to let some of the stress go. I want you to think of what your students need, need of you, and need you to be. Put your energy there. Spend your time there. Let those things take your attention. If other things go, or at least make them wait. You will never regret putting your students and their learning first.
I think you will do more than not regret it, you will thank yourself for it later. So will your students. So will the future.
Focus on people this week. Be there for students, teachers, friends, and family.
Don’t let the weekly pressures choke out the space you need to have for others.
Have the eye of the tiger. Be louder than the lion. Stand firm. Let this week and the stress that comes with it hear you roar as you keep your priorities straight and you make a difference.
You are a champion. Prove it. Show it. Roar!
You are amazingly awesome! You are capable of not letting this week rule over you. You won’t let it. You will let your focus lie where it should. You are going to roar! I know you will! You are a great teacher, so of course you will! Be great and keep on teaching, Teacher!
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
Dear Teacher,
Last Friday, I accidentally kicked off a theme that carried through for a week. The challenge of changing the world. When I wrote it, i did not know that it would resonate with people so much…one of those people being me. It has stuck with me this week. The idea that we, especially we teachers, can change the world is a powerful idea. Not only is it powerful, it is true.
Anyone person can change the world. Teachers have a chance to multiply their change almost exponentially…only the change is done person-to-person and one student at a time. You, me, and every other teacher needs to realize this. It is really what we do. It is a part of the job, It is really part of the focus of what we do. We influence students. We help them to learn, think, and stand on their own.
Students’ personal change while they are in our class, that change that will allow them to face a world that does not yet exist, is the goal. The content is not the goal..though it is the medium through which we teach the skills they need for the world ahead of them…it is the means to the end, not the end itself. We are planting seeds for the future, and the subject and details we teach are just the outer layer of the seed.
Students. They are our “clients.” They are who we work for. They are the concentration area of our job. They are the center of the plans we make for what we do. They are the end goal of our work. They are the work we do. Pure and simple. Students are the change the world needs. We help them learn to be that change. Period. The end. Students.
So…we change the world by focusing on students.
Now what?
The hardest part. We wait. We wait for the world to change. We wait for the seeds to grow. We wait for the plant to mature. We wait for the adult plant to spread seeds of its own. It is the life cycle of plants. It is the life cycle of teaching. It is the life cycle of world change.
It is more than waiting though. When I say that we wait on the world to change, I am not talking about waiting like in the John Mayer song. It is not sitting back and waiting for something to happen. It is not waiting for the world to change itself. We, as teachers, don’t wait that way…and we should teach our students not to wait that way.
We proactively wait. We keep digging. We keep planting more seeds. We keep working on changing the world. We influence more and more people. We connect with more and more students (especially the difficult ones). We keep on going day after day after day. We never give up trying until start seeing some change in some way every where we look.
We work to cause the conditions of change. We wait for change. While we wait, we cause more conditions for change. We wait. While we wait, we…well, you get my drift here. We keep going.
The world WILL change. You are a part of it. To quote from the Kid President song I shared last week, “The world can be better, and you’ll be the cause.” Change is coming. We just have to work and wait….and “keep going, keep going, keep going.”
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
You an agent of change for AWESOME…because you are awesome. Keep going. Just because you don’t see change, it doesn’t mean that it is not happening. You are doing what it takes! Keep doing what you do, you amazing teacher, you! Keep going. Keep on teaching, Teacher! Oh, and keep going (did I mention that?)!
I am in the trenches with you! This has been a long week. I am tired. I am beat up. I am worn out. I am not broken, but I am a little battered.
Do you feel the same way? If not today, have you recently?
I talk a lot about the pressures and struggles of teaching and the difficulty in finding balance while juggling a thousand things at once. I won’t remind us of that today. We know what we have to do. We know how hard it is. We don’t need to be re-educated on those things we know oh so well.
I am in a reflective mood. In this time of reflection, I am thinking a lot about what are really the roots of my frustration right now. I really don’t think it has anything to do with the students. I don’t think it is the burden of having so many responsibilities every minute of every day. I don’t think it is the pressures form above me in the hierarchy of things. I don’t think it is the content or curriculum. I don’t think it has much to do with the job of teaching at all. I think it has everything to do with me.
I don’t think I have focus.
I am not saying that I am not focused as a teacher. I am not saying that I am not looking to the standards for direction. I am not saying that I have forgotten my heart for students. I am not saying I do not see my place in the span of things at my school. I think I have a focus on all of these things, and everything else that I should.
And therein lies the problem.
The funny thing about focus is that it is very specific and pointed. When you focus on something, everything around it is slightly more blurry, even if just an imperceptible amount. You cannot truly have more than one focus.
What you focus on is the center of what you do. Everything else gets a little less attention and energy. It has to be this way. If it is not, then you are not really focused on anything.
When you focus on more than one thing at the same time (or many, many, many things), your energy is scattered. Your mind is scattered. Your heart and your soul is scattered.
When you are scattered, you are all over the place. You cannot sustain that. It will lead to frustration, heartache, and burnout. You can not run in more than one direction. You can not have more than one main goal. It just is not possible, at least not at the level it takes to be effective and meaningful.
So, that leaves me with the question, “What do I do now, Self?”
I find the goal that matters most. The goal that I lost along the way. I make that my focus. I give that my energy. I give that my all.
And what is that goal?
I don’t even have to think about the question to answer it. My students are my goal. Their growth, maturity, and becoming learners and people that care about other people is what I personally care the most about. Their who I work for, in essence. They are my reason for all that I do as a teacher.
What does this mean, then, to what I do day-to-day?
It means I weigh decisions based on what they need. It means I get to know them so that I know what they need. I means that I make sure I am not losing them for the sake of lesser goals (like following lesson plans to a “t,” sticking to a strategy that I am told is excellent when it is not working for my students, or staying “on-pace” when my students are falling behind). It means that I work on finding strategies that work for them. It means I am willing to have more than one lesson plan for the day because some students need a little more than others. It means I differentiate, I means I encourage and affirm them. It means I write notes, make parent phone calls, and take time to just say, “Hi, how are you doing?” It means that I never give up. It means that I find a way to reach each and every one of my students. No matter what!
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
I don’t know if this rang true to you, but it is an open and honest reflection for me. This was needed. Thanks for reading if you made it this far! Do you need to readjust your focus, too? Join me in doing that today!
You are awesome! If you are here, it is because you are trying to be the best teacher you can be and looking for a boost of encouragement to keep up the fight. I hope you found that today. You deserve to be encouraged! You are a great, awesome, and amazing teacher! Your students are your goal. They are what really matter. Keep going. Keep fighting. Keep making that difference! Keep on teaching, Teacher!
Here is a little message you may never get, but you probably need to hear. Keep going! You are awesome! You are amazing! Keep on teaching and keep on making a difference, Teacher!
Love, Teacher
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
Dear Teacher/Love Teacher 