I hope that springs comes soon as this winter keeps dragging on. Areas around us have no snow and we still have over 2 ft on the ground and we got another 6 inches just the other day. Today was a beautiful day as it got up to near 50 degrees and a lot of snow has melted but still is very white outside. As I wrote last week, I am continuing to talk about the top 10 lessons I learned as a teacher. Today I will write about reasons 6-10. Number 10 I try to keep my motto for life. So with out further ado.
6th- Never Get Complacent
If you start to ride the wave and not continually challenge yourself to create new and better material, then you run the risk of creating an atmosphere of indifference. That was always a challenge that during the long stretches of the year, I did not want to just go on auto-pilot. As soon as I did, I would lose the kids and it is very challenging to get them back.
7th- Start tough
It is always the best plan to start very tough and drill classroom etiquette. I was not a big believer on having a ton of rules that made it tough for the kids to know them all. Have a few simple ones that you feel strongly about and make sure they know them and follow them as well.
8th- Connect with others
Connect with other teachers in your building that teach the same kids. You may learn great strategies on how to deal with certain kids that you are struggling with. You may learn who certain kids connect with. You may help another teacher with a student that they are struggling with. Connect with other subject area teachers to learn tips on how to teach a topic. Never feel like you know how to do it the best. Always improving.
9th- Get involved
Get involved in something to learn the students outside of your classroom. There are numerous different activities to get involved in. Math league, knowledge bowl, art club, student council or senate, sports teams, community bands, robotics, or many more of the like. This is an awesome way to get to know students and for students to see a little different side of you and can maybe help you connect with some kids that way.
10th- Work to live, not live to work
I am a firm believer in this. I loved teaching but the only way I was able to continue loving it was by leaving it at the end of each day. I went early and stayed late so I did not have to bring it home. Home was for my family and things I wanted to do. It helped me not get burnt out like so many of my college classmates. Being a teacher is labor of love. If you do not love it, it will burn you out very quickly. I did not make teaching my life, but it was a portion of my day that I truly enjoyed.
I truly enjoyed teaching and maybe in a year and a half I will be back in the classroom. But I definitely enjoy what I am doing now as well being involved in our business. So who knows, see what way the wind blows when the time comes. Till next time, think warm thoughts and maybe spring will appear.
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