The Truth About Teaching
Teachers. They are a curious bunch. There are many types, shapes, sizes, and states of mind among them. Almost all teachers believe they are doing their very best. The majority are really good, heartfelt people that want to make a difference in their students ’ lives. New teachers, until they ’ve had their own classroom, will not realize how much of themselves they ’ll give to their new way of life. Once they have been baptized by fire, they ’ll realize that teaching is a soul baring vocation, in that one ’s best and worst are displayed in the classroom for all to see. This is incredibly terrifying and exhilarating all at once. In order to truly reach students, teachers must allow themselves to be tender, openhearted and willing to always work towards being a better person, as well as a more effective educator.
Teaching Is War
Some teachers embrace that crucible and allow the students to hold up a mirror for the teacher to see his successes and defeats. For a classroom is a battleground. Don ’t misunderstand. It ’s not teacher against student; it ’s teachers and students against apathy. Every day the battle is lost and won. Every day, the teacher must reassemble his tools and weapons. Every day, he must go back to the same field, consciously forgetting the casualties of yesterday, because he has to start new, or else the battle is lost before he ever gets out there. In preparing the students, he can ’t fight before them. He must fight by their sides. He must let them learn to thrive and fail by their own accord, showing only by example, the glories to be had through vigilance, discipline and true spirit. The teacher ’s job is to help the students want and attain that glory for themselves, because he won ’t always be there, and they have to learn to stand in their own desire to learn, if the war is to be won.
Obstacles
It ’s mighty hard to go in, day in and day out to try and teach the adolescent animal, whose very nature causes her to mistrust, push back, withdraw, make excuses, hide behind false bravado, and fear failure and success. If she ’s poor or disadvantaged in any way, then there is a Great Wall of China between her and her teacher, which he ’ll have to climb over, before he can even start teaching. But he signs up for it every day, because he believes that he can reach her. He swears that if he ever gets tired of climbing that wall for more than a year, he ’ll do something else.
When he uses these challenges as a launch pad to always getting better, his heart will not be defeated.
Casualties
However, if he absorbs her negativity, listens and hears with his heart her answer, “No.” Then he will start to slow. His energy will begin to wane. All of a sudden, he rests and pretends not to notice the three in the back of the room with their heads down. There ’s not enough to fight that battle. It ’s their choice anyway, he tells himself. Because he ’s becoming more and more removed from them, what used to just be mild irritation at their ways has now become a more solid dislike. How can he do this over and over? When is somebody going to do something about this? He didn ’t go into teaching to babysit. In a few years more, his dislike will have calcified into bitterness. Anyone who comes along with a new idea or a possible solution is met with searing impatience. There is no desire to learn or to get better. Just to do the time. There is no judgement in this. All teachers flirt with this kind of disillusionment, especially teachers in schools of poverty. The turnover is unbelievable. It’s a difficult, often thankful job, and some might argue why anyone would put themselves through such dysfunction. Anytime someone is that unhappy in their job, no one benefits. There’s someone else who will give it a try. It’s perfectly understandable to move on to a job that feeds you better and isn’t as hard on you day in and day out.
The Mindset That Helps
It must be acknowledged that all teachers have these feelings sometimes and often. There are days and weeks, even, where a teacher cries on the way home, or in bed, thinking about the day. Teachers who have taught more than 5 years sometimes have whole years where they doubt their desire to continue their career. Some go back to school to get their administration degrees, some teach a community college class or two, some leave and come back because there ’s a hole in them every time August comes by.
What we ’re talking about here is not the teacher who struggles or is down for a while. We ’re talking about the teacher who refuses to see that there has to be constant change in his career. The kids will ebb and flow, teacher ’s schedules will change from day-to-day, year-to-year administrators will come and go, the school itself will get better, then worse, then better again, budgets will shrink and expand, and programs will come and go. It ’s the very essence of teaching…change. Then why should he not expect that he must change as well…that there will always be celebrations of success and actions that will always need improving?
For all teachers, there will be days when you don ’t feel like you ’re teaching to your standard. These days have to happen, if teachers are going to save themselves from burnout. Even on mediocre days, the students have the benefit of just having their teacher around. Students need to know that even if he isn’t on his game, he ’d still rather be with them than anywhere else.
The Balanced Life
For all of the difficulty in teaching, there are many, many joyous reasons to stick it out. Just when a teacher is ready to throw in the towel, some previously ornery child will pop up with a great question, provide an insightful answer, or say hello in the hall. That good feeling gets most teachers through another couple of weeks. There are other things she can do to keep balanced and have something to offer students the next day. When a teacher’s life is rich and full, she doesn’t lose herself in the minutiae and the challenges in her vocation. Teaching becomes just one more aspect of who she is. The broader her interests and the deeper she reads, the more of herself she brings to the table for her students to experience. She models what a full life looks like. She teaches the very best of herself, and she and her students benefit greatly from her wealth of life knowledge to complement her content knowledge. Here are some ways to create that balance.
Mindfulness Practice
What are some of the things a teacher can do to keep her heart open? There are many physical and mental practices that keep the heart from hardening. Meditation, yoga and some form of prayer can help to keep the mind fresh, limit depression and give the a teacher valuable energy. When teachers can sit with their difficulties, let go of them, and ask for help, it creates the space for her to be the best teacher she can be, because she’s not carrying the last 24 hours worth of emotional baggage into the classroom.
Have Fun and Never Stop Learning
Having an activity or hobby outside of school helps teachers to identify themselves as a person who is a teacher, but maybe also a potter, a fly-fisher woman. a boxer, etc. It broadens the scope of a teacher ’s identity and brings interesting life experience to the classroom. It allows a teacher to focus intently on things that bring contentment and fulfillment. It also feeds a teacher ’s desire to continue learning. Michelangelo once said, “I am still learning.” A teacher that can show her first pot to her kids and let them hold it, will bond with them over the learning process that they all share, and helps them realize that learning can be a lifetime joy.
Exercise
Spending time exercising washes out the negative, stuffy energy of the day and replaces it with the ability to see all that is going right. Exercise affects a teacher’s perception. Things no longer seem as sluggish and bleak as before. Moving his body creates endorphins that uplift his mind and spirit. Even as little as 15 minutes a day will make a difference and help him approach his day, and the classroom, in a more positive way.
Books That Feed the Teacher’s Soul
Teachers must remind themselves on a regular basis that what they do in the classroom every day is holy and valuable. If teachers wait for others to do this for them, they ’re missing the point. Teachers are responsible for their own self-appreciation and uplifting. Students must learn this valuable lesson from from their teachers, if not from their families. If teachers can do this for themselves, then the compliments that are given to them won’t ring of begrudging bitterness. Still, it ’s really helpful to be with people, either in person or through a book, who know what teachers are going through and can help them with their perspectives, especially if they’re feeling defeated.
Reading books about the heart of teaching serve a different purpose than strategy or skills books. These books keep the part of teachers that went into teaching for all of the right reasons well fed. Keep one next to the bed and in the collection of personal books on the desk. Five minutes with one of these books can restore a teacher’s faith in humanity, and help them get through the day.
The Most Important Thing
With all of the tools offered in this hub, new teachers will have a good head start on establishing a stick-to-it attitude and creating balance in their lives. The most important thing that will save a teacher, time and time again, is laughter. Having a sense of humor about things knocks them down to size. Teachers should never be afraid to laugh at themselves and with their students. Not taking one’s self too seriously is a great way to confront any type of stress that may creep up on them. When students see teachers flat out belly laugh, they’re often a little thrown by it. They may watch for a minute, but then they’ll join in. Happiness is strangely the one thing teachers sometimes struggle with in the classroom. Sharing joy through laughter is a universal experience that breaks down barriers and builds bridges. It’s okay to enjoy students. They won’t lose respect for for their teacher. Instead they’ll feel a hard-won connection. In fact, being seen as truly human is half the battle.
An Invitation To My Readers:
This article only covers a certain amount of information and resources. Please take a moment, and add your favorites, preferences and suggestions on how to live a balanced teaching life through
books
activities
practices
perspectives
Even if you’re in your beginning education training, you have something helpful to add. Those of you who are still teaching or have left the profession to move on to more fulfilling things, please share your knowledge!
Thank you, StardustOrdinaire
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