One of the things that has surprised us the most at Mindsteps this year is the number of teachers who have confessed to us that they don’t enjoy teaching any more. Granted, 2010-2011 was a really tough year for the teaching profession in general – from attacks on teaching in the media to tightened budgets and layoffs – but it still surprised us how many teachers no longer love what they do.
They’re just plain exhausted.
I get that. Many of you are being asked to make bricks without straw and the constant pressure to raise test scores can suck all the joy out of helping students learn. It’s not that we don’t feel that student achievement is important, it’s just that we don’t believe it’s the only thing that’s important. We’ve lost our balance as a profession.
As a result, more and more teachers have adopted a passive stance simply reacting to the latest mandate by working harder and harder, often at the sacrifice of our passion, our peace, and our pride in what we do.
It’s easy to succumb to the pressure and the pervading cynicism that has crept into our profession. But it is at times like this where we have to fight the hardest to preserve what matters most. How do we do that?
By focusing on good teaching.
Good teaching is not blindly adopting every district or state mandate that comes down the pike. It cannot be found in the latest curriculum or teaching fad. It won’t happen by implementing a set of scripted strategies. And it certainly is not becoming a caricature of someone else’s idea of what a good teaching looks like.
Good teaching starts with good thinking. It begins with understanding the principles of learning and rigorously applying these principles every lesson, every day. It means taking the risk to do what is right for kids no matter what.
That is why this Thanksgiving season, we want to celebrate all the things that make you uniquely you. We don’t want cookie cutter teaching. We love the fact that every teacher is different and yet every teacher can still become a master teacher. We want to applaud the teachers who are brave enough to resist the pressure and do what is best for their students. We want to lavish deserved praise on the teachers who find a way to balance the very real demands of raising test scores with your own insistent desire to help students learn and love learning.
So thank you for daring to be yourself, your very best self, and for finding a way to help your students become their best selves. That is the essence of great teaching and we at Mindsteps are very, very grateful.
Wonderful post! As we approach the holidays, I would love to share it with my faculty and staff.
I fully agree with this statement that
“Good teaching is not blindly adopting every district or state mandate that comes down the pike”. Fore every teacher to comply with every state mandate is tantamount to becoming automotronic.
As a teacher it’s important to find your teaching style that works for you and not become phased by the opinions of those who have little to no idea what teaching all about. Unfortunately most of today’s ‘heroes are sports figures and entertainers. But when it all comes down to it, it was a teacher that bought you to seek who you are good or not-so-good. Simply put, the mediocre teacher tells. The superior teacher demonstrates (William Arthur Ward). The great teacher inspires! Keep your head up!!