Teaching has to be one of the most demanding jobs around. So much to know. So much to master. So much to impart and share with students in your care. And oh yeah ….. don’t forget the accountability you owe to the school administration. And of course the parents want their pound of flesh from you too. And oh yes ….. there’s all those other things you do in the course of your busy week at school.
So hang on there, what have I just said? Let me just replay that:
So much to know:
- subject content
- curriculum structure
- latest teaching/learning theory
- child development
- names of students in the 5 to 6 classes you teach (goodness: 150 students!)
- students’ different learning styles
- personal ‘issues’ facing individual students
- school vision, mission and policies
- state regulations and laws
So much to master:
- teaching style and techniques
- learning theory: how do children learn
- communication styles
- computer technology: hardware
- computer technology: software (programs)
- Internet and Web based skills
- embedding computer technology into curriculum
- embedding computer technology, Internet and Web skills into curriculum
- embedding computer technology, Internet and Web skills into your teaching style
Accountability to administration:
- lesson plans
- term blocks
- ongoing assessment
- reporting to faculty heads, campus heads and principal
- curriculum documentation
- attendance at faculty, campus and school wide meetings
- accounting for budget expenditure
Accountability to parents:
- daily/weekly communication: emails, phone calls
- parent teacher interviews
- report writing
- year level assemblies
- end of year school assemblies
- year level after school meetings: orientation sessions, information sessions …..
- excursions: preparation, execution and report back
- newsletters
- year book
All the other bits and pieces:
- yard duty (including wet day duty!)
- camp attendance
- special interest clubs: lunchtime and after school
- special school wide events and celebrations
- school musical: creation, performance, supervision
- sports day: supervision
- weekend detention
- weekend sport supervision
- school open day
- school tours: after school, weekends
- weekly assemblies
- attendance at professional learning sessions
- extra curricula program involvement
Doesn’t your head spin when you consider all that you do in the course of a day or a week? Don’t you ever stop and wonder how you even make it through the week?
But hang on! There’s something I’ve not even mentioned!
PASSION
What’s that you say? On top of tackling all the other aspects of the job, I have to be passionate about what I do in the classroom, in the staffroom, in the school? I have to be enthusiastic in the performance of my duties? Passionate even?
Alas ….. the answer is obvious and simple.
Yes – we have to be passionate in the classroom. Which student will be inspired to learn if the teacher in front of them just walks through the lesson content, assigning homework and learning tasks along the way? Project yourself into the spare seat in your class. Ask yourself if you sound interesting ….. if the subject content is challenging, engaging, inspiring. Are you passionate about what you do, what you think, what you feel and how you impart this to your students? Do you feel that you are leaving your mark on the lives of the students in your class, placing a plank in the scaffolding that you aim to leave with them? Do your students leave your classroom with a word of thanks for a great lesson?
In between the busy work-a-day routine we have in schools, it is essential to inspire, to impart that spark, that joy, that passion for all we believe. Without a doubt, being passionate, being inspirational will spur learning and creativity. Neil deGrasse Tyson says it well. We should be aiming to prove him wrong though. Get out there and light a flame!
You wrote it very well! Teaching is an art that really combines the artist with the art!
I blog, too: Follow me, if you please:Aspire. Motivate. Succeed
Thanks for dropping by.
Hi Bev…passion was one of the underlying themes throughout the Reform Symposium at the weekend. After reading your long list of the daily “processes” educators face, it’s no wonder that burn out, illness, early retirement etc is common in this profession. How can we help and support each other to rekindle that passion?
As they say – recognizing there’s a problem is half the solution.
Perhaps we need to re-think how we are doing it in schools and put teachers in a position where they have to focus on their passion. Giving teachers time and space on the job may go a long way to help them retain their passion.
Hi Bev,
Thanks for this great post. You’re right about passion. I’m sure we have all been to PDs where the presenter was less than passionate. That simple enthusiasm for learning makes such a difference to the learners!
That list of roles we take on is quite disturbing and the scariest thing about it is it is not exhaustive! I’m sure we could go on and on. I think someone who is effective at their job (and not just teachers) are able to focus fully on their task at hand as they’re doing it and not think about all their other things to do. Easier said than done, I know!
Thanks again,
Kathleen
Well said Kathleen! Its essential for presenters at Professional Learning sessions to present their message with passion if they want to have a chance of holding the interest of attendees let alone influence their practice.
As for the list – as I was compiling it, I was very conscious of the fact that it was not exhaustive! It is scary!! Having so many other committments on a daily and weekly basis detracts from both time and energy levels.
Sharing a comment left on my Google+ account:
Jennifer Kirby – I am not a teacher but I think what he said in the video is true but I don’t know how you translate this into the classroom – here in Australia the class sizes are way too high and now with the addition of special needs kids in the normal classroom – how a teacher is expected to give individual attention and maintain passion with all the extra work load I do not know. My sister-in-law is an AP and she doesn’t go to bed before 12 any night – Bless you all.
Thanks for your comment Jennifer.
I think for those of us in education we’ve always known that we need to be a ‘jack of all trades’. The load can be draining and exhausting though. Too many teachers ‘burn out’ and depart the profession way before they should. We need to be reminded to keep a light burning under our passion.
Another comment posted on FaceBook by Penny Bentley:
Bev…great post. How can we support each other to rekindle that passion that is often buried beneath your long list of “processes”?
Ah …. if only they were ‘my’ list of “processes” – I would discard some to the scrap heap and share others around so that the one teacher wasn’t so overloaded. If only…. Sadly these processes have been created by the system. Raising our voices together to demand recognition of why each of us got into education in the first place may be a path to follow.
Another comment left on my Google+ account:
Hamish Curry – What a simple, but brilliant post Bev. Putting things into context helps highlight the challenges, which are so easy to whinge about, but adding the passion is what drives the challenges over the line.
Thanks Hamish for your kind words. Yes we hear lots of groans in the corridors of our schools. Sad that valued professionals feel so washed out. Trying to keep a handle on why we went into teaching in the first place could be the key to much of it!
Loved it! Passionate People Produce!
Great line! Thanks so much!
Thanks for your posts! Have a sense of belonging.
So glad to hear Tatyana. Thanks for your feedback!
Bev Check out my blog “Passionate People Produce” at
http://passionatepeopleproduce.wordpress.com/ for more about passion.