They say the older you get, the more you forget. I’m
certain that I’m one of those people that have forgotten way more than I know about
being a teacher. Here’s a list of things I wish I would remember more often.
· How I
felt the moment I met my oldest son for the first time. I was convinced
that I was put on this Earth to be his dad. I believed that everything else I
had EVER done was just practice to get me ready to be the father I needed to be!
My hope with all my students is, that there’s at least one person out there
that feels the same way about each one of them as I feel about my own sons. It
might not always be the case and I need to remind myself of that more often.
· I’m
always at my best when I’m less concerned about my lesson and more
concerned about who it’s for.
· That kid
who occasionally (or more than occasionally - 😉) drives me crazy in the
younger grades is going to walk out of our school in about four or five years
and never come back. On their last day of school, I’ll be standing there with tears
in my eyes, waving and feeling forever grateful that I got the opportunity to
be their teacher!
· When I am
jumping out of my skin excited about a lesson that I’m teaching I never seem to have much trouble with classroom
management. I need to find more ways to be jumping out of my skin about
what I’m teaching.
· Today is
a new day. It’s a new beginning for me, my students, and my classes. A new
opportunity to improve on how we did last week, month, and year. I need to
remind myself and my students of this more often. In order to break a negative cycle
with our students something has got to change...maybe it’s me!
· I need to
remember all the impromptu reunions. I’m lucky enough to live in the same
town that I teach in and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had former students
come rushing up to me for a hug, handshake, or talk. On the days where I feel
like I can do nothing right, I must remember those moments.
· I must
remember to ignore people who scoff at teachers and say that we have an
easy job. I would gladly lend my sneakers to anyone, anytime to come into my
classroom and show me how easy it is!
· I have
the two most important jobs in the world. I am a teacher and parent. Every
day I have the opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of
children and I am unmeasurably blessed because of it!
· If I had
to do it all over again, I’d be a teacher. I was born to do this!
· I must
remember not to be surprised by what my students are able to accomplish. I
have seen kids transcend unspeakable situations and overcome unbelievable odds too
many times to be surprised, but yet I feel surprised often. (I do LOVE those
surprises though!)
· If given
the opportunity kids always come up with better solutions to their arguments
than we do. They have better ideas for fun too!
· Need to
remember why I became a teacher. I became a teacher to make a difference in
this world and what better way to make a difference then by teaching and caring
for a child?
· I need to
remember to be as enthusiastic as that bright-eyed kid who walked into Forest
Avenue School in Glen Ridge, NJ 23 years ago.
· What we
teach is important, but our content pales in comparison to who we are teaching
for. Math, art, music, science, physical education… is just a part of the
puzzle for a child. Our primary job as teachers is not to put information in,
but to bring potential out of our students for all to see.
· Be as
excited for my last lesson of the day as I am for my first. While I’m at
it, I need to remember to be as excited for Monday as I am for Friday!
· Some kids
are going through unimaginable circumstances that we have no idea about. It’s easy to get annoyed when talking and
behavior gets in the way of a lesson. Everyone has a story. It always helps me
when I take the time to try to understand where people are coming from.
· Need to show
and tell my students how much I care about them. I need to do this more
often. I want to let them know how badly I want them to do well in this world.
My hope is that I am in a constant state showing them I care, but I definitely need
to say it more often!
· The
miraculous odds of me being my student’s teacher at all - Sorry to get all
philosophical, but…there are almost incalculable odds of any person being born
on this planet. Think of all the things that had to happen just for you to be
here! Take those odds of one person being born and multiply that number by a
class of 20 students and one teacher. Then think for a moment of all the things
that could have prevented us along the way from being in that room together. It
is truly a miracle and I need to remember that more often.
· Smile
more. Enjoy this time. My thought is that I most likely have many more teaching
years behind me than I do in front of me. I LOVE that Trace Atkins song, “You’re
gonna miss this” – I don’t want to look back on this and wish that I had more
fun in the time that I had!
· Just be
AWESOME in the moments when I’m in front of my students. All the paperwork
that is due, meetings, flaming hoops to jump through, and hurdles to jump over
are NOT going to get done when I’m with my students. That’s when I try to tell
myself, “be AWESOME NOW and worry about all that other stuff later.” (and YES, that’s
difficult to do sometimes)
· Sometimes,
it’s not THEM, it’s ME! Perhaps the baggage I’m bringing to school with me somedays has more to do with how my lessons will go than anything else.
· I can
still have a GREAT DAY regardless of how my lessons go. If everything
around me is turning into a “Calgon Commercial”, (That’s a crazy hectic mess
for those of you born after 1979) I can still remain clam, figure a way to get
their attention, and use that as a teachable lesson for my students.
· I have to
focus more on what can go right. So often when I think of a new idea, I
start to come up with all the worst-case scenarios. Our brains are wired to protect
us from new experiences, negative or positive. While it’s important to take all
angles into consideration, sometimes it’s more important to feel the fear and
do it anyway!
· I have to
remember how poorly behaved I was as a student in school. Hopefully that
will help me with the students who struggle to keep it together as I did.
· I must not
to make predictions for my student’s futures based on their present
performance. I get to have students for 6 years straight. I have never met
a student who has not improved over those 6 years – most show dramatic improvement.
I have to remember what a poor student I was and how little I liked most of
what was associated with school. I was an incredibly late bloomer and never
realized a sliver of my potential until I got into college.
· I have to remember that I can count on one hand, the teachers that I felt TRULY believed in me
growing up – They were the teachers that inspired me to be more than just a
“clown at the circus”! (No offense if you are a clown at a circus) Most of my
teachers were good to me and I fully admit that I did not give them much to believe
in. However, there were a couple teachers whose belief in me eclipsed all
others. I need to strive to be that for my students. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, Mr. McNabb and Mr. Jackson, for seeing more in me
than I ever dreamed possible!!!!!
What do you need
to remember more often as a teacher, parent, spouse, friend…?????
Props once again to my AWESOMELY TALENTED brother Eric Housel, who does all the artwork for my blog!
I really hope you enjoyed my post. Make today GREAT and
KEEP MOVING!!
Mark
