There are plenty of reasons to be aggravated and disgusted with the path politicians are leading our education system down. HOWEVER, there are plenty of reasons why I still love teaching. These are my top 3 reasons, and I would love for you to comment below and tell why you love teaching too!
1. Learning! Always learning.
A teaching career is a never-ending journey of learning. I was terrified at the beginning of this school year! Me? Teach Science? O.M.G..., but I took several science professional development courses over the summer and have continued learning throughout this school year.
But I haven't just been learning about my core subjects this year. I have also been given the opportunity to reflect and learn how to work better with my colleagues. "You pick your friends, but you can't pick your colleagues." No matter what, I always greet each coworker in the morning with a "good morning and a smile." Of course I do have a few colleagues that are difficult. (Who doesn't?) So when I interact with them I try to imagine that my students are watching/ listening. It helps me not stoop to their infuriating level. :-)
2. Every Day is Different
There is never a dull moment in teaching. The lessons, incidents between students, interactions with colleagues, planning- moving students forward while continuously reteaching skills and concepts, and of course all of the emotions felt throughout the day. It's all in a day's work.
3. Seeing is Believing
My students surprise me every day. The kindness that they show one another... just when I think that one student is going to tease another, he puts his arm around his peer and says, "let me help you. Or when they are assigned to work with a student that they "don't like," and grumble all week about it. They argue during the assignment, and I of course help them work through it... just when I start to kick myself for putting these children together.... they are giggling and learning together. It happens more often than not! And I love it each and every time it happens! Seeing is truly believing.
What are your top 3 reasons you love teaching?
Until next time,
Sandra @The Happy Learning Den
By the way... Check out my newest resource
"Talking the Talk" in my TPT store. It features cow and turtles with accountable talk conversation stems. A good friend/ colleague and I developed this resource because we wanted something kid-friendly and cute in our classrooms. Since my favorite animal is a cow, I use the "Cow-tastic Conversations" portion in my classroom. Gina's favorite animal is a turtle. So naturally she is using the "Turtle Talk" in her class. But just in case you aren't a fan of cows or turtles we also included desk tags that feature students. The more I insist that my students use the accountable talk, the more natural it becomes for them, AND the more respectful they are becoming toward one another. Let me know what you think!
