(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,
Don’t give up. That is basically all that I want to tell you this morning. Just don’t give up. Don’t stop.
I know that the weight of teaching is heavy. We push and push, but the push back is often more intense.
We can see what our students need more than they can. You know your students. You know how close they are to understand what you are teaching them. You know how close they are to becoming more complete self-learners.
But the resistance makes it hard to keep moving.
You are beat up. You are tired. You are exhausted. You have very little left to give.
It would be easier to drop back and punt…you can try again another day.
Don’t stop. Don’t give in. Don’t move back. Keep pushing. Keep going!
You don’t see it from where you are, but you are so very close to success with your students. You see how close they are, but guess what? You are SO CLOSE to getting them there. I know it is hard, but don’t stop!
Find your reserves. You have some hidden energy and strength left. Find it. Use it. You are seriously almost there. Just give a little more. You can do this. I know you can because you are awesome!
Two of my favorite quotes of all time are from Thomas Edison:
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
You are on the verge of success. A miracle is on the horizon. Chase it. Go for it. You are almost there! Push on. Further on and further in. You’ve got this, you amazing Teacher, you!
Take on the the attitude of Edison today. Don’t give up. Don’t let apparent failures stop you. Failure never means you can’t do something, it just means you need to keep trying and find some new ways.
You don’t have to stop. You have this. You are close. Keep going and keep moving forward!
Your students will watch you, they will learn to do the same thing. They won’t give up and snatch defeat from the jaws of looming victory. They will keep trying until they get it…just like they saw you do.
Don’t give up!
You are an amazingly awesome teacher! You have what it takes. You have the strength and fortitude. Prove it today! You will see success, so keep pushing on and keep on teaching, Teacher!
Love, Teacher
PS…I know I keep talking about it, but I am so excited about these posters and how they can motivate students (intrinsically) to keep moving and pressing on! The Motivational ABCs Poster/Word Wall (or Growth Mindset ABC’s) are available in the Dear Teacher/Love Teacher TeachersPayTeachers Store…check it out, if you haven’t had the chance! The image in this post is one of the printable posters in the set.
As I talked about yesterday, we have so much to do, think, and and be throughout our each day. I am feeling the weight of the pull of the thousand things that are tugging at me today.
I am trying to take my own advice and try to make sure that my focus is on the students and what they need. The hard part is deciding what those things are! Even if I move my focus to students and their needs, there are still so many things to choose from. Picking a direction and running at it is important, but knowing which direction is best each day can be a challenge.
The idea of just finding “one thing” comes to mind. One thing, one focus, one direction is all that we need. We just have to make a decision. How do you do that?
Reflect.
Where did you get to yesterday in your content? What do your students seem to be lacking from prior content? What are the learning/thinking skills that they need most? What strategies are they responding to the most?
Get all of this into your mind. What is the one thing that stands out the most? What is the biggest student need across the board? What is the one area that needs to most work or most support?
That is your “one thing,”
Make this deficit area, thinking/processing sill, or content topic your goal and focus today. Make everything else revolve around it. Let the noise of all of the other thousand things be in the background as you work through this one thing that students need most.
Will you have to answer to why you made this choice? Sure. Might it cause conflict? Yes. But no matter what you choose to focus on will cause other things to fall to the wayside and cause the same kind of drama. You just have to make sure the thing you choose is student-focused. That is all that really matters.
Remember, when you are asked, “Why are you doing _______________?” Your answer better have “students” at its core!
Students are our goal and focus. Don’t be afraid to make a stand for them. It will all come out in the end. Students and their needs…their one thing each day…will never disappoint or let you down. The short-run may hold conflict, but that conflict won’t outlast the joy of students learning and learning how to learn in your classroom. That trumps all and will win the day in the end!
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
You are awesome and amazing! I know you know how to make “one thing” choices…don’t be afraid to! I have your back and so do all of the other teachers out there. Student learning is never a bad focus. Stand firm and take a stand today with it! Never fear it! Keep on finding those “one things” and teach on, Teachers!
Great Monday morning to you! I know, there are very few times in the thick of the school year that we view Mondays as necessarily great…we are often being pulled from every angle and feeling like we are ten seconds from being ripped into pieces. Monday only makes it worse because we look forward to the pulling starting over fresh and new. It doesn’t have to be this way!
How do we keep ourselves together when everything wants us to fall apart, especially on a Monday? That is what today and this week’s theme song is all about. The best part is that I get to share one of my favorite songs by one of my favorite artists with you, and you probably have never heard of him or the song. Get ready to be a fan.
Click play and read on (just in case you are new and didn’t know 🙂 ). When you are done, you might want to go back and watch the video. It is pretty cool.
Teacher, you have so much on your plate. You have things that need to get done. You have expectations to meet. You have classroom management issues to deal with. You have parents to call. You have plans to plan and implement. You have profession development to go to and show evidence of using and applying. You have test to write, give, get data from, reflect on, and plan to use to differentiate and raise student achievement. You have books to read, papers to grade, and Common Core to implement.
You have people constantly looking over your shoulder telling you what to do and who to be as a teacher. You have parents who don’t think you are handling their child correctly. You have administration analyzing your every word and move in the classroom. You have curriculum specialists giving commentary on every strategy and technique you use and giving you tips and pointers on how do do things differently. You have ever changing district, state, and federal mandates and standards that are to be followed to the “t” with little variation.
You have a life outside of school. You have pressures from other places. You have family. You have friends. You have a life…at least you try to have one.
You have students. Students who need you to be more than just a implementer of plans. They need you, the person. They need your heart, soul, and mind to help them navigate through the storms of life and education. They need a mentor. They need a teacher. They need you.
Students are why you do what you do. Students are the key to education. Students are the ends and the means. Without them there are no standards, tests, data, professional development, or lesson plans.
Students are the heart of it all. Students are your heart. Students are why you are where you are. Students make you a teacher.
You are pulled and yanked in a thousand directions every day. You feel that weight the most on Sunday nights and Monday mornings. The waves of the life of a teacher are constantly trying to pull you under. The current is strongest at the beginning of the week.
What do you do? How do you combat this? How do you go against the flow that wants to drag you down? How can you make a Monday feel great and something you look forward to seeing?
One word: STUDENTS,
We have to learn to to be brave enough to run into the flames of the fight to let every decision we make be completely centered on our students. We have to train ourselves to let things go for the sake of our students. They need to be the answer to every question that starts with “Why did you…” Students, their hearts, and their minds need to be key. Few people know them like you do, and you need to stand up and say what you think will work best for them.
It is hard, though. It is hard to let go of some of the anxiety and fear of not meeting the expectations of others. Not meeting deadlines. Having to answer those hard “why” questions. I can’t tell you how to do this for you. I can tell you, though, that it is worth it.
I have been teaching long enough to know that expectations, standards, and mandates change. The current of education moves with the latest and greatest ideas and research, but often it is a circular pattern that always comes back to best practices that have been around for a long time. Tap into that and you will see that it always comes back to some of the same themes. Follow those themes and you can keep up with the changes (I will try to write about some of those themes later).
I am not saying to rebel or not follow guidelines and mandates. I am definitely not saying that. I am just saying that you will start to remember why you love being a teacher when the students return to being your focus for all that you do. And if you get off from the expectations set for you, make sure that your answer has something to do with the specific needs of your students. That is what is key and paramount.
Let go of the fear. Let go of the anxiety. Let the students be the reason for all that you do. Make them the goal. Open up your heart and mind to letting them come first. You will start to feel the freedom that comes from that. You will see that everything comes back around.
You may have to answer questions or be “fussed” at from time to time. Don’t let that worry you. One day, when a student comes back and tells you the influence you had on them and how that changed their life, what are you going to remember? Are you going to remember the lecture you were given or are you going to remember why you became a teacher? I think I know the answer.
Let things go and let yourself make choices in your classroom and with your time that come out of love and care for your students. I promise, when you let it go it will come right back to you. You will make it through and be a better teacher for it!
Don’t be afraid to let go!
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
You are awesome! You are making such a difference in the lives of your students. Keep going. Don’t act out of fear but act out of love and concern for your students. You will never regret it! You are amazing! 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,
Well, I am a day late, but it is still early in the week and I bet we could all use a theme song for it…especially those who had a day off yesterday. So let’s get to it. This song is going to be a “blast from the past” for a lot of us, but for some it may be the first time to hear this song. Whether it is new to you or a reminder of more youthful days, this song is a great theme for teachers and one we should hear and think about.
Click play, get through the ad if there is one, and then read on.
Teacher, like it or not, we are heroes. We fight battles, we run into danger, and we do the impossible. If not literally, we all do this figuratively. We take on the world of our students and help them through it and get them to the other side into adulthood and the future.
Not all teachers take this seriously. Some teachers look at this as more as a job than a calling and desire. They come in, survive the day, and put up with their students. They tow the line. They don’t step on toes. They teach what and how they are told to teach. They do little connect to students and see the student as the goal…the content is the goal and teaching it is success.
These teachers “stand outside the fire.”
That is not you, Teacher.
You dance within the flames. You take what you do and what you are in stride and with confidence. You know teaching is more than, well, teaching. It is connecting. It is getting to know your students. It is understanding your students. It is understanding the teaching and learning dynamic. It is teaching skills outside of your subject area. It is taking risks. It is being bold. It is being brave. It is taking on the fight and being the hero that your students need you to be.
You are not content with the status quo. You are not happy with just teaching your standards. Your students need more. You need more.
You are not afraid to step on toes when it comes to the needs of your students. You know what they need, you know how they learn, you know what they are capable of and their potential. You make choices for them, not for who is watching.
You get to know their families. You help their parents and guardians know how to help them learn more at home. You allow their family input on ways to help the student in the classroom. You make it a team effort and don’t try to do it all on your own.
You look for help from the teachers around you. You are not afraid to try new things in your classroom. You look around and see what is working and not working and then seek out strategies from others for whom things are definitely workings. You are not afraid to change.
You are also not afraid to reflect. You take a look at students and what they seem to be learning and not learning, and then you make adjustments in you and how you are teaching. You look at data. You are not afraid of data. You let data help you make instructional choices because it gives you a view of what your students need.
You are one of the great ones, Teacher! You do not stand outside the fire. You are in the thick of it. You are dancing around with the flames jumping all around you, and you love every minute of it! You are a hero. You are a teacher. Your students need you!
You are awesome and amazing. Your “fire dance” is making a difference. You are making a difference. Keep on teaching and keep on running into the fire, Teacher!
Love, Teacher
PS …The poster/graphic this morning is one of a line of printable posters that I created and made available on the TeachersPayTeachers Store. They will be called “Motivational ABCs.”
I do not know how you feel right now, but I feel like I have been in a fight. Not a fist fight, but a battle. The beginning of this school year has been a little rough. My students have been great! I am not talking about them. It has just been tough to get things going.
I have written a lot about the changes that I am striving to make this year. It is not easy to dramatically change how you do what you have been doing for a long time. This is my eighth year of teaching, so I am trying to break a lot of old habits and undo a lot of the “old ways” that I have taught. When the going gets hectic and the clearness of my schedule gets muddied, I want to fall back into what is comfortable.
Yesterday was most definitely one of those days. I had to constantly remind myself why the changes are important. I had to keep telling myself why I needed to keep going on the road that I am on. I had to look at myself and tell me that I can not give up and I can’t surrender.
It was hard. I was left feeling beat up by the battle by the end of the day. So now, at the beginning of a new day, as I sat and thought about what I might want to write for a post, I wondered what I needed to hear myself. What I came up with is that I need some motivation. Something to pump me up. So I went on a search.
I found a pretty motivating (and a little funny from the way it was set up) set of movie speeches to get me fired up and ready for the day. Have a watch and listen with me.
I love the way that was put together! Are you more ready for the day now (or tomorrow if you are seeing this at the end of the school day)? I know I am!
As I was looking for this, I found another video that was shown at a training I recently went to. This video helped me this morning, as well. It is a look at the recent past and the exponential changes we have seen in present and full of predictions for the continued changes into the future. It is a reminder that we are teaching students for who the future is unknown. There is a statistic that keeps changing (in the upward direction) of the percentage of jobs that will be available to our students when they are adults that do not exist at the moment. This is in the video. This statistic never ceases to astound me. It is eye-opening to think that our students are going to enter a world that does not exist yet, and this world is unfathomable to us at the moment. We HAVE to be on our game. We have to fight!
I probably ought to share the video. 🙂 Even if you have seen it before, it is worth another watch.
After this, I don’t have a lot to say. I need to let all of this sink in for you and let it motivate you for your “fight” today. I do want to close with a quote that goes along with the video and what this information means for us as teachers. It is from Eric Hoffer, a 20th Century American philosopher. What is amazing about this quote is that he past away in 1983…a little before the impending technology boom that has caused much of the exponential changes that we are seeing.
In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.
Teacher, I hope you have a great day. I hope you have a great end to the week. I hope next week brings some of the awesome that you are working towards with your student. You are awesome and amazing! You are fighting the good fight. Keep fighting and keep on teaching!
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,
Okay, I know that you may or may not be starting the new school year when you read this. However, there is a good chance that you are, because most of the readers of this blog are from the US. If you are not starting the new school year, you may still find some motivation here in this post, so read on. I hope it will be worth your time!
This is a theme song post; you know the procedures by now, I hope! Click play and then start reading when the music starts!
This is it, Teacher. A new school year is upon you. Are you ready? Are you nervous? Are you anxious? Are you excited? Or are you, like me, a jumble and mix of all three and then some?
What are your plans for the year? I don’t mean unit and lesson plans. I mean what are your plans in the terms of what you want the school year to look like? Do you have those kind of plans? Do you have goals, hopes, and dreams for what the school year could be like? I don’t mean the kind of hopes and dreams that you think, “That would be nice but it won’t happen.” I mean the kind of hopes and dreams that you believe in so much that it gets you up in the morning and you will wear yourself out to make happen?
A lot of us had those kind of plans when we first started teaching. Unfortunately, the longer you teach the more that kind of thinking fades. Lofty and slightly unrealistic goals get beat out of you by the realities of teaching. It does happen slowly, thank goodness, but our hopes erode over the years.
Drip by drip, the stress and pressure of teaching starts to wear on you. It breaks down the hope. It washes some of the dreaming away. It dims the light that used to shine so bright.
Sometimes this gets to the point that the school year happens to you. You get stuck in a form of “survival mode” that you stay in just to make it through. You love and do your best with your students, but the spark is faded or gone. You go along with the waves and currents of the year because you have so little fight left. It is a normal part of teaching for so many of us. Don’t feel bad if you have been there or are there. There is hope!
What is that hope, Mr. Dear Teacher/Love Teacher?
The hope is that IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE THAT WAY!
Most of this is going to be a mental exercise, so I know that you may or may not see this as a little bit of “pie in the sky hooey,” but you just have to change your thinking! You have to believe that this year is going to be different. This year will be the change and you will never be the same teacher again! You have to stand firm and resolute. You have have to stand tall, look this new school year in the eye, and be determined that you are going to happen to the year and the year is not just going to happen to you!
Your attitude has to change.
Remember way back to when you first started out. Remember those wild-eyed dreams that you had. Remember the teacher that you were determined to be. Remember how you were going to take the world by storm and change the lives of your students for the better.
Have that image and those thoughts in your head, and then look in the mirror and tell yourself that it is not too late. You know why? It is because, no matter how long that you have been teaching, IT IS NOT TOO LATE! You can still be that teacher! You can still meet those goals!
The best part is that the longer you have been teaching, the more know-how and experience you have to make those things happen and be that teacher you wanted to be. You just have to purpose yourself to do so! And you can! You can because you are awesome!
The past does not matter. No matter the teacher you have been, you can still be the teacher you always wanted to be! Find a way to do it. Hang out with those teachers that are closest to what you dreamed of being. Learn from them. Read, read, read! There are so many sources for strategies and ideas! I will post some of those sources soon. Get to know your students. Find out what they think they need from you as a teacher. Try to become the teacher that they need!
Teacher, YOU CAN DO THIS!
It is your teaching life. It is your year. It is now or never. Teach like your alive! You are alive! You can be the great teacher you wanted to be or that people think you are and you don’t believe them. It is never too late!
BE AWESOME! MAKE THIS YEAR AWESOME! DO WHAT EVER IT TAKES! YOU CAN BECAUSE YOU ARE AMAZING! KEEP ON TEACHING, TEACHER!
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the picture if you link back to this blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher.)
Dear Teacher,
I am not sure where you are in your summer break or school year, but for me it is the last day of summer. Tomorrow is the first day back for teachers. The countdown is on! Summer is over and it is time to start remember what day it is again (stole that one from a post I saw on Facebook).
Weekly theme song time, so click play and keep reading. This is a silly version of the song, but it still works!
This is it. You have rested. You have planned…maybe. You have had some summer PD.
Last year is officially “in the bag,” and the new one is about to begin. Are you ready? Your students are almost to your classroom door. They are waiting for you. Are you waiting for them?
Teacher, this year could be the best year ever. Make it the best year ever! No matter what has happened in the past, this year can and will be different. Make it that way. You can. You are awesome. You can do it! You just have to be brave enough to do whatever it takes to make that happen…and you can!
So, what do you need to do with the minutes ticking off of the clock?
Get your mind ready. Take a look in the mirror. No finger pointing at anyone besides yourself, what do you need to change about you? What things can you do different with your students? How can you build relationships better? How can you deal with stress better? How can you plan more efficiently? How can you communicate with parents better? How can you change in how you interact with fellow teachers and administration?
Get your heart ready. Take a look in that mirror and only point at yourself again, what do you need to fix? What fences do you need to mend? What bridges need fires put out? Who do you need to forgive and/or as forgiveness from at your school? You need to work with who you work with for the sake of the students. You need to make it work. What do you need to do to make things work? Do you need to forgive yourself? Do you need to move on from the past and just let some things go? Do it. It will be worth it to have the best year ever!
Get your spirit ready. Take one more look in that mirror with your fingers ready to point, what do you need to be excited for the coming year? Do you need to just let go of curricular hang-ups? Do you need to forget your worries about expectations from others? Do you need to erase your bad experiences with students from years past and just assume this year will be better? It will be better. Get excited! You have the best job ever! You are about to have students that you have never taught before! They don’t know your past! You get to start over! Start over! Find something to be excited about and BE EXCITED!
This is the final countdown to the best year ever! Get excited! Expect the best! Let go of the past and just find ways to make this the year of your teaching dreams! It can be, no matter your circumstances. Make it that way!
You are awesome! I wish you the most awesome-est year you have ever had! Make this year as awesome as you are! Keep dreaming 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,
Today’s “best of” is made up of some of my favorite posts to write, and include some of my favorite all-time posts. Every once in a while we need to remember why we do what we do and get excited about it. We may be on the downside of the teaching roller coaster and a little boost of reminder is all it takes to be headed back up the hill. That is what these posts are about! They are supposed to remind you of the awesomeness of what you do so that you want to go out there and be awesome-er! Here is to being awesome-er!
Some of these are older and you may have definitely missed them. Check out as many as you can and let us all know your favorite (and why)!
Hopelessly Hopeful (one of the very first Dear Teacher/Love Teacher posts)
Fridays of More(what Fridays really mean for teachers most weeks)
Rock Star(this one is one of my top favorite posts, and it was an early one)
Well, I hope you are “pepped” after reading a few! Pick your favorite, tell us why it is your favorite, and then go and share the link to it! You can have more than one favorite, if you want. 🙂
You are awesome! Today is going to be a great day! You are going to have a great rest of the week! You are amazing and are making a difference for the future! Never forget that! Keep on teaching, Teacher!
Love, Teacher
Repeat PS from yesterday…I have an idea. I want to compile stories about teachers who have made a difference in peoples’ lives. It can be a story or a “Dear Teacher ___________” thank you letter. I want to share them on here and maybe in a couple of other ways (possibly a book). If you are interested, email dearteacher@outlook.com and put “Teacher Story” or “Teacher Thank You Letter” in the subject. Thanks. I am excited about this project! (I will post more details about this soon, but please send your story/letter if you can!)
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the picture if you link back to this blog.)
Dear Teacher,
I am an admitted NASAphile. I have loved all things NASA for a very long time, and I even had a dream to go to Space Camp when I was younger. That dream was fulfilled twice as an adult when I was able to attend Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy and Advanced Space Camp once I became a science teacher. NASA, and space, in general was fueled by my love of science and technology. NASA has been and will probably always be on the cutting edge of innovation, and I think that has a lot to do with my fascination.
As teachers, we are asked to be innovators. To survive in the world of 21st Century education, we need to be at the pinnacle of current understanding of teaching and learning. We need to engage our students. We need to understand technology, at least in some form or at least know the technology our students are in to. We need to be able to monitor and then adjust at the drop of the hat. We need to be masters of our learning environment. We need to manage our classrooms with grace and efficiency. And we need to all of this, and more, in an ever-changing educational landscape.
I was inspired today by a post on Edutopia, called, “What You Need to be an Innovative Educator.” It was about, as you can guess, innovation in teaching. The surprising part of the article is that it was not about being the best with technology or the latest education trends. It was more about you, as a teacher, than about what you do. I highly recommend that you read the post on Edutopia, but I am going to use what it says to give us a quick little pep talk. I need it right now as I am getting bogged down in some detailed planning of big ideas for next year.
You Have What It Takes to Innovate
It is not about the latest and the greatest things…technology and strategies. That is not what your students need. It is not about the resources you may or may not have, it isn’t even internet or worksheets. Innovation is about you, Teacher.
It is about who you are and not so much what you do. It is what is in your heart and mind, and your heart and mind have what it takes to innovate.
You know how to prioritize and find what is important. You know it is more than the whats and the hows, it is about the process of figuring those out. You are a human strainer that lets standards and indicators pass through, leaving only the enduring understandings. You know how do do this, and it is in you, Teacher.
You also know that to teach well you have to be selfless. No one had to tell you that this is bigger than you are. You know that it is okay to ask for help and you always know when and how. You are even brave enough to sometimes even consider to allow students in on your planning.
You know that time and energy are more important than money and permission. Stuff is nice, but if you give things enough time you know that you can plan around the stuff. Energy is hard to come by, but you know you need to give it and somehow you always find it. Time and energy are the key and you always give these freely.
You are a teacher, and you have heard since the beginning that teachers beg, steal, or borrow. You are not too proud or afraid to beg, steal, or borrow. Sometimes you reinvent wheels, but this is few and far between. You look to models to work from and put your own fingerprints on.
You are more than willing to stick your neck out for your students. If you know that something could work beautifully but there is a chance it will blow up in your face, you take the chance for the sake of your students. You can always backtrack, but if your plan works out you may help your students leap ahead. You are willing to take the leap of faith to things you know will be best and you are not afraid.
Most of all your students trust you, and you trust your students. They will follow you where you lead them, especially if they think you are leading them where they need to go. You trust that what you think will work WILL, in fact, work and that your students can make it happen. Trust goes both ways, and you have confidence in this trust with your students.
Innovation is hard, even harder without stuff, but it isn’t really about stuff. The stuff will change. How we are asked to teach will change. Innovative teachers work within these changes, whatever they may be, and you have what it takes to be one of these innovative teachers.
So get out there an innovate!
(c)DearTeacherLT2013 (You may use the image if you link back to the blog and/or give credit to Dear Teacher/Love Teacher)
I have no doubt that you are one of these innovative teachers! You are awesome! You work with in the medium you are given. You strive to be the best you can be. So get out there and be that “the best.” You have what it takes so go out and be innovate! You are amazing! Keep dreaming, innovating, and teaching, Teacher!
I am so sorry. I was not able to post my normal Monday morning post. Even though the weekly theme song is a day late, the week is still young. I chose this song because it is a powerful one sung by to powerful voices. I need this boost of inspiration this week, I don’t know about you. Click play (and skip the ad if one comes up) and then read on.
For those of us on summer break, it is slowly coming to a close. The days are soon approaching when you will be meeting your students at the door of your classroom. You will, once again, be that face of education for them. You will be the one that sets the tone for your class and the day for many of your students. What you say, do, think, and feel about them will help decide what they say, do, think, and feel about themselves.
Our job is hard, We have to plan curriculum, timing, assessments and the like. We have to implement and delver those plans we made. We have to manage the classroom. We have to help students on their good days and their bad days. We have to help students on our good and bad days. We have to deal with difficult students and find ways to bring them back into the learning environment. We have to keep students engaged. We have to find a way to help them learn. We have to ensure they are ready for success on state tests. We have to follow guidelines and expectations from the state, district, and administration. We have a lot of balls to juggle at once. It is hard to keep them all in the air most days.
And along with all of this, and probably above all of this, we are the key to our students’ attitude and belief about learning and education. The way we talk, carry ourselves, and visibly feel (feeling show) affect how they act and feel. Your attitude sets their attitude. Your tone sets their tone. Your expectations for them become the expectations that they have for themselves.
The best word that I can think of to sum this up is belief. I am not talking about spiritual belief (though important to most people), I am talking about belief in yourself and others. Beliefs are powerful. They affect you and those around you. What you believe sets the atmosphere of your classroom and the students sitting in it. Your belief in them and what you are teaching them becomes what they believe. If your belief about achievement is low, it will be low for your students. If it is high, it will be high for your students.
The amazing thing about beliefs is that you don’t have to talk someone into them. You don’t need “buy-in.” If you are bought in, your students will eventually be bought in. When someone truly believes in you, eventually you start to believe them and then believe in yourself. This is doubly true for your students. You set the environment of belief and they tune into it. Like it or not, this is the reality.
So…what are your beliefs for the coming year (or the year you are in if you are currently teaching)? What does your belief about your students, classroom, and school say to the students. Are your goals set unbelievably high? If they aren’t, they should be. Set them high and believe, truly believe, that your students can reach them. Make them attainable goals, but make them lofty. Once your goals are in place, communicate them constantly to your students. Then believe. Believe. Believe. Your students WILL buy in and start to believe themselves.
The song is so right. There can be miracles when you believe. Belief helps you to do things that you never thought you could do before. It makes you rise to heights you did not know you could reach. It makes you more than you could be.
A few posts back, I shared a bunch of clips. Two of them were from Taylor Mali. The last one is called “Miracle Workers.” In it he talks about teachers as miracle workers. He says this near the end of the talk/poem, “Education is the miracle. I am just the work. I am a teacher, and that’s what we do.”
Be a miracle worker. Set high goals for the year and believe, believe, BELIEVE!
You are awesome! I know this week will be great for you. I know this coming school year (or current one) will be great. Be awesome because you are awesome. If you need someone to believe in you, know that I do. I believe in you. Be amazing! Keep on dreaming and teaching, Teacher!
Dear Teacher/Love Teacher 