Dear Life,: 3 BIG Things Every Teacher Needs

Sunday, September 25, 2011

3 BIG Things Every Teacher Needs

For this past month, I have been doggie paddling, swimming, treading water, and frantically grabbing onto random floating objects...metaphorically speaking.

While learning to teach (an ironic statement if you think about it), I have discovered that teachers need 3 BIG things.

1. A Teacher needs a BIG Smile.
         Students respond to genuine kindness...at least Asian students do. I believe they can see through the fake happiness, but when they see genuine happiness and kindness they respond.

2. A Teacher needs a BIG Heart.
         If someone was in this for the money, they would be:
-disappointed when they got the paycheck
            -burnt out before they could say "burnt out"
        With almost 200 students, each day I teach a classroom full of young lives with intricate stories to tell. I hope I have the ears to hear and the heart to help and guide.

3. A Teacher needs a really BIG Back Pocket.
   Teaching often involves "pulling something out of my back pocket." Every 5 minutes, I am mentally reviewing my lesson plan, adjusting to the clock, and searching my student's faces for understanding. If I do not see understanding I have to add (out of my back pocket). If I see understanding faster than expected, I have to move on which may mean "pulling something out of my back pocket" later.
As a new teacher, I have to intentionally plan my "back pocket" activities. However, I'm reading TEFL journals/methodology books and making my own journals with the hope that one day I will have a natural, built in back pocket. Until that day...