At least be honest with yourself, and stop making excuses every time someone asks about your scores or your students' abilities. Is there a reason they achieve more than expected? Is there a reason they perform below average?
The thing is we all tend to get defensive and throw up blocks to deflect the blame:
If those third grade teachers had done their jobs last year...
If they'd come to us with the skills they're supposed to have...
If their parents gave a hoot...
If they didn't have such terrible attitudes...
If the water was treated with fluoride...
Really, we need to be honest with ourselves, admit our shortcomings, and work on our strengths. When I talk about teachers having teaching personalities, I mean that we each have our niches - things we do that work for us, combinations of skills that are unique to our classrooms. We might also call it a certain chemistry that only exists when we are present. But I digress...
So, since we have these strengths, we can honestly admit our shortcomings and work to rid ourselves of such. Either work on the things that we aren't good at doing, or (and I like this option) find a work-around that uses our strengths instead. Sometimes we must get creative in order to avoid the things we don't like, and honestly it can get tedious and cost us our time, but in the end its necessary and worth it. In the end, we can survive and thrive by finding our own path.
Admitting our shortcomings is not equal to admitting failure. It's really more in line with a Growth Mindset in our teaching. As such, we take a dose of our own medicine when we use this as a step to correction, or a step to advancement. I will not improve - I will not overcome my shortcomings - without taking steps to forward myself in the areas I lack.
For example, I have never felt like I've been a very good reading teacher. I do not subscribe to learning centers or small group instruction in my classroom. It's not from a lack of trying; I have indeed tried, repeatedly, to use both of these teaching strategies, but they are well outside of what works for me. Therefore, I must find a way to either make them work (force a square peg into a round hole), or strategically avoid the strategies. Since I'm not one to follow a script very well, I choose the latter. I must have ownership in my teaching, so I must find other ways to teach the things I am assigned to teach. That means I have to reflect on my strengths and find ways to apply them to a new situation, in this case the teaching of reading. Because I've done this in the past three years, I have discovered some methods that work for me. I wouldn't prescribe them for every teacher, but they work for me. And because of this my reading scores on standardized tests have increased.
My point is this: I had to reflect on my teaching style, my teaching personality, my teaching strengths, and on the standards provided to me. Had I not done the meditation and had I not verbalized my thinking (to myself), I could not have created the work-arounds necessary for success. In nearly 30 years of teaching, I am still learning and discovering the things that work for me.
Honesty with myself has been the key. I can't blame the kids, the parents, or administrators for everything, but while the kids, the parents, and administrators bear their fare share of responsibility, I can only directly and effectively control what I do in the classroom. I am the tip of the spear, I am on the front line, and I have to be the one who makes the primary decisions for what happens in my class.
I listen to teachers in the lounge. I see what they post on social media. But as a professional, I try to be positive and effective for my students. I am a work in progress, and I have to remind myself to deal with my students honestly in order to become the best teacher I can be.
The thing is we all tend to get defensive and throw up blocks to deflect the blame:
If those third grade teachers had done their jobs last year...
If they'd come to us with the skills they're supposed to have...
If their parents gave a hoot...
If they didn't have such terrible attitudes...
If the water was treated with fluoride...
Really, we need to be honest with ourselves, admit our shortcomings, and work on our strengths. When I talk about teachers having teaching personalities, I mean that we each have our niches - things we do that work for us, combinations of skills that are unique to our classrooms. We might also call it a certain chemistry that only exists when we are present. But I digress...
So, since we have these strengths, we can honestly admit our shortcomings and work to rid ourselves of such. Either work on the things that we aren't good at doing, or (and I like this option) find a work-around that uses our strengths instead. Sometimes we must get creative in order to avoid the things we don't like, and honestly it can get tedious and cost us our time, but in the end its necessary and worth it. In the end, we can survive and thrive by finding our own path.
Admitting our shortcomings is not equal to admitting failure. It's really more in line with a Growth Mindset in our teaching. As such, we take a dose of our own medicine when we use this as a step to correction, or a step to advancement. I will not improve - I will not overcome my shortcomings - without taking steps to forward myself in the areas I lack.
For example, I have never felt like I've been a very good reading teacher. I do not subscribe to learning centers or small group instruction in my classroom. It's not from a lack of trying; I have indeed tried, repeatedly, to use both of these teaching strategies, but they are well outside of what works for me. Therefore, I must find a way to either make them work (force a square peg into a round hole), or strategically avoid the strategies. Since I'm not one to follow a script very well, I choose the latter. I must have ownership in my teaching, so I must find other ways to teach the things I am assigned to teach. That means I have to reflect on my strengths and find ways to apply them to a new situation, in this case the teaching of reading. Because I've done this in the past three years, I have discovered some methods that work for me. I wouldn't prescribe them for every teacher, but they work for me. And because of this my reading scores on standardized tests have increased.
My point is this: I had to reflect on my teaching style, my teaching personality, my teaching strengths, and on the standards provided to me. Had I not done the meditation and had I not verbalized my thinking (to myself), I could not have created the work-arounds necessary for success. In nearly 30 years of teaching, I am still learning and discovering the things that work for me.
Honesty with myself has been the key. I can't blame the kids, the parents, or administrators for everything, but while the kids, the parents, and administrators bear their fare share of responsibility, I can only directly and effectively control what I do in the classroom. I am the tip of the spear, I am on the front line, and I have to be the one who makes the primary decisions for what happens in my class.
I listen to teachers in the lounge. I see what they post on social media. But as a professional, I try to be positive and effective for my students. I am a work in progress, and I have to remind myself to deal with my students honestly in order to become the best teacher I can be.
