Why Do Educators Love Their Profession? #loveedu

Why do we do it? Show up day after day to work with young people and other educators? It's a job that takes a great deal of stamina and energy. We're always "on". Because we are imperfect humans working with dozens of other imperfect humans, there are challenges.

Why do we do it? Because we are wired for it. Because it fills us up like no other endeavor can. Because we love it!

I asked educators on Twitter to share why they love their chosen profession. Their answers are below. Please enjoy! And if it sparks in you thoughts on why you love education, please share in the comments!

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All original work in this post by Sandy Kendell is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Please see specifics on my re-use policy in the right-hand column of my blog before re-posting/re-using any of my blog content.

Pressing On in the New School Year

As I start my 20th year in education, a profession I still love, I want to be energized and excited and open to possibilities.

The truth is, I'm anything but those things right now. Right now I'm just tired. There are several reasons for why I feel the way I feel, some of which I can identify and some of which I may be ignorant of, but regardless, it's where I am.

Even when I'm feeling discouraged, I try not to be Debbie Downer (or maybe Sandy Sadsack?) on my blog, because I want it to be a place people come for ideas and encouragement, but I also know it is important to be authentic.  Authenticity is important for the sake of my own reflection (I occasionally peruse my old blog posts to assess where I've been and as a result where I am and where I might be going) and for the sake of my readers. Because some of you probably struggle sometimes, and you need to know you're not alone.

Regardless of how I'm feeling, the cycle of the school year moves ever forward. In my district, the teachers have been back for a week and the kids start back tomorrow. So, I must press on.

Because of the way I'm feeling right now, I am thankful for coming across an intriguing video yesterday. This article on Skills Every 21st Century Teacher Should Know kept appearing in my Twitter stream and on the professional groups I subscribe to on Facebook, and on Saturday I finally clicked on it. I really didn't expect any surprises, but I did run across a treat.

A video of high school librarian  Joyce Valenza speaking last year at TEDx Philadelphia was embedded in the article. In it she recaps the evolution of how students seek information and what they do with it, starting in 1989. It wasn't lost on me that 1989 was the year I started college, already knowing I was going to be an educator.

Watching the video did not suddenly re-energize me, but it did remind me of why I do what I do, why all educators do what they do, is so very important, especially in the over-information age in which we live. In an age where technology gives people of all ages unprecedented access to information and a vast array of options for using that information.

Watching the video reminded me of one of my core beliefs: One of the most important things we as educators must continue to do is help our students learn a foundational set of facts in science and history and work with those facts and their implications through math and writing and literature. I have read in numerous corners of the blogosphere that rote memorization is so 20th Century, and yet we must teach students to be critical thinkers and recognize bad information when they see it. How can they do that if they don't have a solid foundation to reference?

As we continue to impart a solid foundation of basic knowledge to our students, we must also help them learn what to do with the information. And it must go beyond the research paper regurgitation students of my generation were taught. (Substituting PowerPoint or Prezi or pick your favorite publishing tool for the typed paper does not count.) In the hands of a well-educated, determined "average" citizen, technology can become a tool for change and progress. We have an equally important responsibility to teach students how to leverage these tools and use them for noble purposes. And how to recognize and combat those who will use the same tools to inflict harm on others.

Energy and excitement ebb and flow throughout a person's career and lifetime. Purpose, however, can remain a constant. So although I am admittedly tired right now, I am thankfully reminded of my purpose. Wherever you are personally as the school year may be starting or continuing for you, I encourage you to do something that will remind you of your purpose. Perhaps watching the video below will remind you, as it did me, that the meaning of "education" and "being educated" has changed vastly over the last 25 years, and it is our privilege to guide our students and even the education profession itself through the ever-evolving education landscape. Press on!

Stacey Bess - Closing Session Keynote Speaker at TCEA 2012

Stacey's goal today: For us to walk out of here today and say "That lady is telling the truth. I really do have the best job in the world."

"The people you are about to serve are not as interested in what your skills are as they are in who you are as a human being."

Former student of Stacey, named Zach, as an adult didn't remember math in Stacey's classroom. He remembered that she always said, "Zach, you are incredible. I care about you."

The foundation of being a great teacher is to care about the students you teach.

Instructions from one of Stacey's students: "Ms. Stacey, if you listened more, you'd learn more."

Wisdom from Stacey Bess and Carl Malone: Don't hide behind your credentials. Get down on the floor and be a human being.

I would never advocate breaking rules. I would advocate bending rules.

Thank you for caring about kids. Thank you for stepping outside of the box and doing more than just your job.

To be loved completely and unconditionally is the aching longing of every one of our students. 

If you don't believe you make a difference, you are wrong! Thank you for doing what you do.

Finding Hidden Talent in the New School Year

Summer break is over and schools are starting up again in the U.S. over the next few weeks. As you contemplate the upcoming school year, I want to issue you a challenge. But first, sit back and watch the video I have linked below. Watch it from start to end (six minutes isn't a lot to ask). Watch even if you've seen it before - it's probably been a while. Embedding of the video is disabled, so you'll need to follow the link below. Please come back after you've viewed it, I have some more to say to you when you get done watching...

Link to Video

I hope you didn't skip the video! :-)

Did that not blow you away? I have the Susan Boyle video favorited on YouTube and I watch it from time to time when I need some inspiration. Seeing so many people go from cynical as they see a person whom they perceive to be a frumpy middle-aged woman to completely overwhelmed by her talent after a few notes come from her mouth is a thought-provoking experience. For goodness sake, even the ultimate mean guy Simon Cowell looks amazed and gives a contented sigh during her performance!

Susan, an admittedly socially awkward woman, has an amazing talent that is now a gift to the world because a few people looked beyond the awkwardness and encouraged her along the way and gave her a chance.

So, what's the challenge I have for you (and for me) in the upcoming school year?

Look beneath the surface of people in your life to find and encourage their hidden talent.

Your Students

Used With Permission Under a Creative Commons License
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaxport/4638651795/

As those new faces walk through your classroom door, try to look beyond the first impressions, favorable and unfavorable. You will make judgements and assumptions from moment one of meeting them (we are all human; we all do this), but try to rise above those judgements and work to get to know the kids and their interests and passions. Maybe focus on the ones like Susan who have a few social or academic strikes against them. Make efforts to draw them out, listen to them and encourage them. The area where their talent/gift resides may not be in your subject area, so be willing to help them move in a direction that will help them be more fulfilled in life and perhaps even enrich the rest of us with their gifts.

Your Colleagues

Used With Permission Under a Creative Commons License
http://www.flickr.com/photos/create-learning/3948400246/

In your sphere of influence, there may be a new to the profession teacher who is enthusiastic but uncertain of  themselves. Check in on him or her. Watch for things they are good at - motivating kids, planning hands-on lessons, interacting with parents - and compliment and encourage them in these areas. Ask them about an instructional approach they are using; I can remember being so flattered when I was a young teacher and a "veteran" would ask me about something I was doing!  Also, let them know through your actions that you will be an uncritical but helpful ear if they need to bounce ideas off of someone during the year. Even if they seem over-confident, there may come a time when they realize they really don't know everything, and your interest in them will make you more approachable, especially if their over-confidence is off-putting to others.

Your experienced colleagues may have some hidden talents and need encouragement to pursue them, too.  Is there something you admire about the way one of your team members teaches? Have you told them that? Have you asked them for advice or wondered aloud with them how the technique could be applied in other areas? Maybe their talent could benefit children beyond their own classroom.

Teachers are an isolated lot, so when we notice each other's talents, we need to build one another up. Vicki Davis at the Cool Cat Teacher Blog recently posted an inspiring peace about how we as educators need to be each other's cheer leaders. Read Vicki's piece, then choose a teacher or two on your campus or in your district who might need extra encouragement this year. Here's a hint: they might be some of the harder teachers to care for.

Used With Permission Under a Creative Commons License
http://www.flickr.com/photos/crazyeddie/2888389000/

Yourself
Don't forget yourself in all of this talent seeking! It's harder to find "new" things about ourselves, but asking a few questions of yourself might help. What's something you've always wanted to try but have never taken the opportunity? What's something others often tell you you're good at that surprises you? What's something you already enjoy doing and know you have a talent for, but wish you could take to the next level? Is there an organization you belong to that you've desired to take a different or larger role in? The answers to any or all of these questions could help you discover an area of talent for you to pursue at the next level.

If you still can't identify the natural talents in your life, ask a trusted friend or colleague. It might be an awkward conversation, but you can preface it with the fact that you are looking for some new areas in which to grow in your life. You can couch the question this way: "How would you finish this sentence: 'One thing that insert your name here does really well/or is really talented at is ________________.'" Ask it in an email if having the conversation in person might be too awkward for you. It also will give the other person a little more time to think.

Here's another hint: The hidden talent in you may have nothing directly to do with your educational role. And that's ok! Discovering a talent/gift in yourself, or pursuing something you've always wanted to try, may help make you a more fulfilled person, and that new level of contentment will translate into bringing more balance to your life which will in turn flow into all parts of your life, including your teaching. Being a "student" of something, if that is part of the hidden talent path, will also help you relate more to the people in your charge each day.

Susan Boyle
Used With Permission Under a Creative Commons License
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Susan_Boyle_Nov_2009.jpg

Lessons from Susan
Susan Boyle had learning difficulties in school and was bullied as a child. She dedicated her life to caring for her elderly parents until her mother finally passed away in 2007, just two years before she came up with the courage to appear on Britain's Got Talent.

And courage it took. She was mocked twelve years before in an audition for a different British television show. She lived only with her parents until the age of 45 and rarely worked outside her home. She had singing experience in her church and a few local venues, but nothing as big as Britain's Got Talent.

It also took encouragement for Susan to step out. Her mom encouraged her before she passed away. And then her singing teacher.  Her Britain's Got Talent performance was the first public performance she gave after her mother's passing.

And how very blessed and fortunate we all are that people spoke into Susan's life and encouraged her.

Who are the Susan Boyles in your life? Does a colleague's name come to mind? A former student you might see in the halls this year? Perhaps it's a new student you've yet to meet. Or maybe it's you. Regardless, someone you know or are about to know needs encouragement to share their talent/gift with the world.

In the coming school year, you have the amazing privilege and opportunity to provide that encouragement.

Remember and Reflect on Your High Calling

Credit goes to Vicki Davis, the Cool Cat Teacher, for inspiring me to write this post. She posted the video below to her own blog this morning, and although I had seen it in the past, I was encouraged to revisit it. I'm so very glad I did, too. As someone who does not work directly with students very often, I need reminders like this to keep me mindful of why I do what I do and help me "keep on keepin' on" during tough or discouraging times.

I think this video is a very timely reminder in the States where we have just begun the second half of the school year. We've just come off of a bit of a break, but now we begin the push into high-stakes standardized testing season. Here in Texas, the stakes are even higher this year because our school ratings will stand for the next two years as our state testing system undergoes a dramatic revision. Adding to the stress right now are stories of the looming Texas state budget shortfall and school districts who are already making plans to reduce their teaching forces in the coming school year.

In multiple ways, it's a tough time to be an educator.

It's times like these when we need to remember why we are educators and why we got into education. We need to remember our students aren't just statistics on the next round of tests and our colleagues can be resources whom we can lean on. We need to remember, too, that every member of the school community - students, teachers, administrators, support staff - needs to encourage their peers as well as one another.

We need to remember our high calling.

Many of you here in the U.S. are off today in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Whether or not you are from the U.S. or you worked today, take five minutes to relax and refresh with the video below and allow it to recenter your focus on what is important.