Walter White, George Feeny, Ms. Frizzle, Ms. Bliss. All famous tv teachers; not actual teachers. Being a teacher will never get you famous (most likely). You have some teachers that have parlayed their educational expertise into some social media fame but these are few in number. Those that have found fame out of the classroom can be very motivational and inspirational. Most teachers will toil away and never really be known outside their school or district. But this is not the point of education.
A teacher may work really hard for years and never receive any recognition. You may not win teacher of the year or any other kind of awards. And this is ok. An award not given does not negate hard work. Your job is to be there for your students. They need your best every day and your best may fluctuate but they still need you. You can be a rock star in their eyes. I’ve recently really struggled at work. This year, I feel like I have taken on more and more work and tried to step up in certain leadership roles. All this extra struggle seems to be leading to me banging my head on a wall. I feel like I’m spinning my wheels and that my efforts go unnoticed and unappreciated. I am not one at all for the spotlight or praise but for some reason lately it has been a real struggle to stay motivated without praise. I have been de-motivated and am not fully sure how to turn this around. My usual tricks have not worked and I really just want to hear those three sweet words; Treat Yo Self. My hope in writing this post is for people that are struggling like me. This third nine weeks can be a slog and motivation can be in short supply so hang in there! Remind yourself that you are there for the kids and not the awards. Everything you do (should) benefit the kids in some way. So helping another teacher helps their students. The rising tide lifts all boats. Be the rising tide.
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How much do you want to know about your students?
I want to know all I can about my kids. More information will not hurt how I interact with that kid. I especially want to know what happened when I have a kid that gets in school suspension, out of school suspension, or put up for expulsion. The reason for such a heavy punishment seems like something that I need to know. Maybe there was some trigger that I could avoid. I usually just use other students to gain this information but I have to take what they say with a grain of salt. Also, I wish we could process new students faster. Sometimes I have a kid for weeks before I know anything about where they came from or things with which they may need help. My latest school does awesome with sharing information but I am personally always wanting more. I feel like the stuff we as teachers need to know takes an act of Congress to discover. I understand there are legal guidelines to follow but some of this information is a safety issue. How do you feel? Do you want to know more about your students? Does your school give you a lot of information on your students? Teaching is a job built on a foundation of relationships. Without positive relationships, a school can not function at the most effective level. These relationships must be built and cultivated at all levels. One easy way to build a positive relationship is by doing favors. Doing favors is a great way to gain trust and endear you to others. Favors work for kids and for co-workers. So today grab an neighbor's mail, help someone clean up, just be a little extra nice. The little things matter most.
“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” - Martin Luther King Jr.
As educators, we are not unfamiliar with service. We are in the service industry and it is a draining one. And even on top of our normal service, a lot of us are active in our communities. The service industry is one of the hardest to be in for any amount of time. You are constantly pouring out your cup to fill others. This can create a great drain on you in so many ways. Do not let it. This third nine weeks is the long haul with hardly any breaks. Do not forget to take care of yourself so you may better serve others. MLK sought to improve the world through service and we need to continue this work. Everyday you have a chance to improve someone's life; it could be a student or a co-worker. It could be something as small as a smile or compliment but do not hesitate to do it. Yes it is draining but if helping others is part of your why it will also nourish you. So today and everyday, do something small for someone else and spread the seeds of positivity. Slobby’s World is a recent addition to the Netflix library. The show features Slobby Robby, who owns Generation Cool in Arizona. Generation Cool is store that specializes in 1980s and 1990s clothing and accessories. Slobby Robby has a plenty of flaws (as we all do) but he does offer us some valuable nuggets that we can use in the classroom.
The first thing most will notice is that Slobby Robby is his own dude. He dresses how he wants to dress and does not have to fit in to a mold. This is a great lesson for a teacher. You have to go your own way; you cannot teach like the person next door. If you don’t have your kids in rows (I haven’t in years) or your class can get a little loud, do not sweat it. We fully understand that people learn in different ways so why is it hard for us to grasp that people teach in different ways? Do you boo boo. Slobby Robby is very customer service focused. He shops and buys with certain clients in mind and always try to give his customers exactly what they want and a little extra. As teachers, we need to do the same. We need to make sure all kids are getting their needs met and maybe a little extra help/encouragement. Our district has been big this year on offering Chik-fil-A level service. If you have never been to a Chik-fil-A, it is a fast food restaurant with arguably the best customer service ever. And what most people never mention is that most of the workers are high school age kids. If those kids can do it at work, then they can do it in school too and so can you. So even on your most trying days, try to offer up the best you can muster. This is not to be confused with being a doormat. If you are being disrespected, be not afraid to speak up for yourself, but do so in the most professional way you can. If you want some brainless tv to watch over this long holiday check out Slobby’s World. If you grew up in the 80s and 90s it will bring back a lot of memories. The show may also inspire a side hustle flipping clothes and accessories. After you have found your why, we need to start preparing for career fairs and interviews that will be occurring within the next month or so.
You need a resume to start. There are tons of resume options you can choose from and any will really work. Make sure you have your educational experiences on there and the last about three jobs you have had. I would also suggest to include any practicum/internship experiences. Make sure it is no more than a page and is neat and presentable. I like to put mine on resume paper for an extra pop. White or ivory resume paper works great. Besides a resume, you may also need a teaching philosophy. Your philosophy statement should reflect your educational beliefs (think about your why.) I have never been asked for one but some schools/districts may ask, so be prepared. If you have any lessons that you created/used and were awesome, print them and bring them with you. If you can show people what makes you different and why you should be hired, you need to try and have something to show and explain your process. In career fairs, you may have only minutes so you need to be as exciting as possible. When you go to a career fair or interview, make sure you are looking your best. Get a hair cut, get groomed up, and dress nicely. Now is not really the time to buck the system. Education is still a relatively conservative system so for now you need to look the part. Cover all the tattoos you can and remove all the piercings you can as well. Dress nicer than what you would wear on a daily basis. For guys, no less than a suit is recommended. For ladies, a pant/skirt suit would not hurt. And for the bearded, I do not think you have to shave just make sure your beard is neat. Decided if you look better clean shaven or bearded and do whatever makes you feel more confident and makes you look better. The beard will grow back if you decided to shave. The biggest piece of advice is to be yourself. Do not try and guess what they want and make yourself fit their mold. Like dating, a school should accept you as you are. Career Fair/Interview Checklist:
This is the start of a new series to help guide people thinking about becoming a teacher and those that follow through and are going through their first year. These blogs will be mixed in with other content and hopefully offer insights and thinking points for everyone. So if you know someone considering education at any level please share it with them!
First things first (I'm the realest), you have to decide to become a teacher. How do you do this? This question gets answered differently by everyone. Some people seem to come out the womb ready for the classroom and some people do not find it until after other career options. Like most little kids, I wanted to be a professional athlete (specifically a pro baseball player) but as I got older I got lost interest in that idea. I thought about being a plastic surgeon for a time but decided the margins for error in someone's face were a little more stressful than I wanted. After that, I really wanted to go into marketing. I liked advertising and the manipulation tactics used to get people to buy stuff. I teach some of these tactics as a warning when I cover personal finance in my economics class. That option never truly took hold like teaching. I did not really think about becoming a teacher until late in high school. I always liked school and I was good at it but it never occurred to me to stay. It was not until about junior year when I realized that a lot of people asked me for help on their work and that I felt good when I helped them understand. This coupled with my golf coach/US government teacher and I was highly motivated to get into the classroom. KP was my coach and teacher and taught different than any other teacher. His class was a senior class and taught us as such. How I run my class today is a reflection of how he ran his. Since end of junior year of high school, I have wanted to be nothing else (except maybe a secret billionaire but I would probably still teach.) The key question to ask when thinking about becoming a teacher is why?. Find your why and you will find your way. My why is to help prepare kids to be adults and function on their own. Our education system has major gaps in this aspect. We do not teach "adulting," but I try to as much as possible. As you toy with the idea of teaching you will have a lot people questioning and discouraging you; listen but be not deterred. You will hear a million times that it is impossible to make money in education. While you are unlikely to make millions, you will make a difference. My eyesight has always sucked. I have worn glasses since I was about 4 and contacts since I was 10. And I need the help too; my prescription for contacts is -10 for the left eye and -10.5 for the right eye. If your eyes need correcting you know how bad that makes my vision. The average rate for correction is +/- 3.
I recently went to the eye doctor and apparently I may have retinoschisis. Retinoschisis is where your retina is separating into two layers. I have to go to retina specialist in a few weeks to confirm. Since that appointment, I have been trying to be more than vigilant about my sight. I thought about how much I look at a screen and how much that may strain my eyes. I asked the doctor about blue light filtering glasses and he told me to try some. I ordered this pair from amazon. They are really light and comfortable. I think they do help as my eyes do not feel as tired at the end of the day. Teachers really need to be sure to take care of themselves. It is hard for us to help our kids if we at a doctor's office. Anything you can do to help get your self performing at your best is what you need to do. Often times, we let little issues develop into bigger ones. We have long slog to spring break ahead of us so take care of yourself. Over the winter break, I had the opportunity to read Teacher Misery by Jane Morris. This was a great read! Teacher Misery is a light and funny book that details the trials and tribulations of a secondary English teacher. This collections of anecdotes is infinitely relatable.
Various sections include parent-teacher emails, student-teacher emails, classroom interactions, parent-teacher conferences and interactions with administration. If there is not a section in there that does not ring true in some aspect to you, you must be an alien. If you ever went to school, something will strike home. And if you are a teacher it may seem like someone has been spying on you. 10 out of 10; would recommend. If you want a great read pick up this book. I want to read the sequel next. If I were to add a story to Teacher Misery, a story from my first school would rise to the top of the list. My first two years of teaching, I taught English at small Catholic school. My third year I transitioned to the history department. The lady that was leaving left me all of her notes, tests, and activities. The assistant principal in charge of the history department loved this lady and everything that she made. He did not feel the same about me. I used all the stuff she left and put my own spin on it but he continually observed me. As in he came in at least 2-3 per week. One time he would say use what was left and I would and the next observation would be followed up with I needed to create my own work and not just rely on what was left. This back and forth went on for months. I ended up getting stress migraines and would wake up every Saturday sick and almost unable to move. Eventually I had to go to the principal and orchestrate a sit down. The assistant principle said it was just miscommunication. There was some pretty terrible communication but no one can mistake what happened to me for something so simple. I'm not really sure what his problem with me was because the principal loved and me and she let me do whatever I wanted. The advice I would give all teachers, especially the younger ones, is that if you feel you are being treated unfairly please speak up and do not suffer in silence. We need you in the classroom and the only teacher misery should be the book. |
AuthorKyle is a 34 year old teacher that loves James Bond, history, donuts, and sneakers. Archives
February 2021
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