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Mr. Gary Abud (Michigan's Teacher of the Year for 2014) challenged us to take to social media this week (Valentine's Week) to remind everyone why we love teaching.
He gave some suggestions for starting and they all sounded good so here's why I love teaching, what keeps me going, and why I started in the first place.
Why I love teaching
It always has been and always will be about the kids. As a math teacher, I get a lot of students that have a deep fear and or dislike of math. "I was never good at it." "My parents can't help me so why do I need it?" and "When am I ever going to need this?" are a few of the oft heard phrases that students will throw my way when they don't understand the material. What I enjoy most is when these students that work to understand the material are proud of their accomplishments. I remind students that they need to take ownership of their understanding and in return that I will fight to find many ways to connect with the material.
I live for students excited to see what happens next, happy they are understanding the material, and willing to own their work.
Why I started
In my career as a student, I had many amazing teachers and many other teachers that were simply "good" at what they did. The ones that stood out to me are:
Dr. Blackstone and Mr. Westerman for how to interact with a room full of people at the same time and get them to work together. They were able to quickly diagnose when a person or group was struggling with the songs and provide feedback without making the singer feel stupid. We all worked together and because of that excelled at choral music.
Dr. Coppola because of his teaching philosophy, his care for his students, and his love to improve his craft. I had the privilege of doing my undergraduate research with him and his focus was how to get the novice to think like the professional. This is something that I try to bring to my own classroom. One quote that Dr. Coppola often used was "One goes as one goes, and then one shall see." I took this to mean that we need to figure things on our own. Our own experiences have value and if you screw up along the way, get up and keep going.
But none of these great teachers are why I got into teaching. What hooked me was when I was on tour with the Men's Glee Club in college. The daughter of one of my host families was struggling with factoring trinomials. The single method that she was shown wasn't making any sense to her. So I introduced another way to try it. When her eyes lit up with understanding, I was hooked. When I got into teaching, I made a promise to my brother, a very smart kid yet not a fan of school, that I wouldn't give up on students like him. I'd try to help those students make connections to their possible futures and maybe see something bigger than what they were thinking about. If you knew my brother, this is a "tilting with windmills" situation, but I still don't rest on a student until my grades are due.
What Keeps me Going?
Some days it is tough to get out of bed. The testing craze. The punishments for schools and/or teachers that are unable to hit the ever changing target. The hours needed to do the job well. There are days that I am ready to call it quits. So why to I stay?
First, and I think that this is most important (I did write it 1st), I have a back up career that I could do and make a comfortable living. This means that teaching is my choice. I tell students that they should have a options for careers so they know that what they do is their choice and not something chosen for them. I wake up choosing to do the work. Choosing to make connections with my students. Choosing to do the job to the best of my ability.
Second, the students are amazing. Give the students a chance to wow you and they will. It isn't every day and it isn't every time. Young adults are famous for thinking they know it all and some of the choices they make lead to quite spectacular failures. When they are ready, I'm ready to teach. I try hard to never have the "You've had your chance" mentality. I really believe that I can help every kid improve every day. Even when they aren't trying to learn, I am building those connections that show them that I care. Let's talk music, or the upcoming dance. Did you see that tv show last night? Internet memes, board games, music, theater, sports, video games. If it's your favorite, I take an interest in it.
I #loveteaching.
He gave some suggestions for starting and they all sounded good so here's why I love teaching, what keeps me going, and why I started in the first place.
Why I love teaching
It always has been and always will be about the kids. As a math teacher, I get a lot of students that have a deep fear and or dislike of math. "I was never good at it." "My parents can't help me so why do I need it?" and "When am I ever going to need this?" are a few of the oft heard phrases that students will throw my way when they don't understand the material. What I enjoy most is when these students that work to understand the material are proud of their accomplishments. I remind students that they need to take ownership of their understanding and in return that I will fight to find many ways to connect with the material.
I live for students excited to see what happens next, happy they are understanding the material, and willing to own their work.
Why I started
In my career as a student, I had many amazing teachers and many other teachers that were simply "good" at what they did. The ones that stood out to me are:
- my choir teacher in high school (Mr. Westerman),
- my 8th grade math teacher (Mr. Matthews),
- my college choir director (Dr. Blackstone) and
- my freshman year college Organic Chemistry teacher (Dr. Coppola).
Dr. Blackstone and Mr. Westerman for how to interact with a room full of people at the same time and get them to work together. They were able to quickly diagnose when a person or group was struggling with the songs and provide feedback without making the singer feel stupid. We all worked together and because of that excelled at choral music.
Dr. Coppola because of his teaching philosophy, his care for his students, and his love to improve his craft. I had the privilege of doing my undergraduate research with him and his focus was how to get the novice to think like the professional. This is something that I try to bring to my own classroom. One quote that Dr. Coppola often used was "One goes as one goes, and then one shall see." I took this to mean that we need to figure things on our own. Our own experiences have value and if you screw up along the way, get up and keep going.
Mr. Matthews because he never let me settle. Ever. I think I tried to turn the same test in 5 times. He wouldn't let me (others did turn in their tests). He kept sending me back to double and triple check my work. He made my Algebra 1 skills and understanding so strong, that I didn't struggle in a math class until Differential Equations in college.
But none of these great teachers are why I got into teaching. What hooked me was when I was on tour with the Men's Glee Club in college. The daughter of one of my host families was struggling with factoring trinomials. The single method that she was shown wasn't making any sense to her. So I introduced another way to try it. When her eyes lit up with understanding, I was hooked. When I got into teaching, I made a promise to my brother, a very smart kid yet not a fan of school, that I wouldn't give up on students like him. I'd try to help those students make connections to their possible futures and maybe see something bigger than what they were thinking about. If you knew my brother, this is a "tilting with windmills" situation, but I still don't rest on a student until my grades are due.
What Keeps me Going?
Some days it is tough to get out of bed. The testing craze. The punishments for schools and/or teachers that are unable to hit the ever changing target. The hours needed to do the job well. There are days that I am ready to call it quits. So why to I stay?
First, and I think that this is most important (I did write it 1st), I have a back up career that I could do and make a comfortable living. This means that teaching is my choice. I tell students that they should have a options for careers so they know that what they do is their choice and not something chosen for them. I wake up choosing to do the work. Choosing to make connections with my students. Choosing to do the job to the best of my ability.
Second, the students are amazing. Give the students a chance to wow you and they will. It isn't every day and it isn't every time. Young adults are famous for thinking they know it all and some of the choices they make lead to quite spectacular failures. When they are ready, I'm ready to teach. I try hard to never have the "You've had your chance" mentality. I really believe that I can help every kid improve every day. Even when they aren't trying to learn, I am building those connections that show them that I care. Let's talk music, or the upcoming dance. Did you see that tv show last night? Internet memes, board games, music, theater, sports, video games. If it's your favorite, I take an interest in it.
I #loveteaching.
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