I educate first grade children. I educate other educators. I educate myself. I am a teacher.
I think back to my years in school before I went to college or graduate school. I remember the teachers who genuinely loved what they did. I could tell they loved their profession because it was conveyed in their demeanor and their way of reaching the students each day. Those teachers taught me to love to learn. Then there were the teachers who were burnt out. You know the ones, a few years until retirement, sat at their desk all day, barked at you instead of engaging you. Those teachers made me look at the clock the entire time.
It makes me wonder…were those teachers being pushed to reach their highest potential? Were they continually trained in order to better their craft. Or were they just the ones who were "born to teach?"
I always thought I was born to teach. At the beginning of every school year, I enter with vigor and excitement of things to come. Only to find my self three months in and tired. I am at a place in my career where I feel stagnant. In no way do I feel that I have reached my peak or my full potential. I’m not even at the point in my career where I want to be. And now I'm getting burnt out. I think to myself, "maybe I'll go back to school or maybe I'll change careers."
I recently read Mission Possible: How the Secrets of the Success Academies Can Work in Any School by Eva Moskowitz and Arin Lavinia. It's a book that chronicles the workings of the Success Academy Charter School in Harlem as it rose up to be one of the top schools in New York City. Wow! How inspiring. Moskowitz and Lavinia explained the ways that they created the Success Academies and how it's all about the adults. "Achieving excellence isn't about the students. It's about the grown-ups. When the grown-ups are running on all cylinders, they bring the kids along for the swift, exhilarating ride." I honestly couldn't agree more.
When I worked as an educational consultant, I would work in failing schools and coach the teachers with the techniques to help the students meet the grade level expectations. I saw many energetic teachers who were willing to do whatever it took to help the kids learn. I would also see the flip side; the teachers who had hit a wall in their teaching, and they didn't want to better their skills. Teachers tend to get stuck in one place and get complacent with the “known.” We are in need of continual growth and development of the craft in order to help pump up the excitement for the very thing that drew them to the profession in the first place.
Other countries deem educators as masters of information. They are, in some countries, the highest revered because they dedicate their lives to enrich others’ lives. Educators are respected for what they know, do, and say. I feel that in the US, there is no respect for educators. Emphasis is placed too much on people in the spotlight. Oh everyone says the right thing, "Teachers should get paid more. It's a shame." But where did the respect go?
I didn't go into teaching for respect. I certainly didn't choose this profession for the money. I love to learn and I love to share that learning with others. That is why I teach.
Reading Mission Possible lit the spark I have for education. I feel empowered to go back to school in the fall and demand professional development that will help to improve everyone's fervor for education. I am lucky that I work with a wonderful staff of dedicated educators, but we all still have so much to learn.
Do you want to get inspired about education? Here's your chance to win your own copy of Mission Possible.
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I hope to hear your thoughts on why you think this country treats teaching so differently than it does other professions.
Eva Moskowitz would love to chat with you on Facebook and Twitter as well. Let her know your opinions and share in the conversations on the importance of making change NOW.
**Disclaimer: Although I was paid to participate in the review of this book through my relationship with SITSGirls, all opinions are my own.
Alexis
