Articles for Teachers
When I say 36-hour day I do not just mean that you are going to be so busy with lessons and learning responsibilities that you need to pack more minutes into each day, teachers teach all of the time. All day, every day is a teachable moment for those of you who love your job, are thrilled at learning, and who are always willing to enhance your knowledge and skills and those of others who surround you.
Teachers teach in the morning from the moment the alarm sounds its startling blast. Chances are you had already awake before the beep as ideas encircle your brain: how to re-teach fractions; how to readjust the writing lesson; who might over-experiment on the chemistry lesson causing a commotion and explosion; all of those teacher thoughts. Next you probably find yourself helping family prepare for the day. Teachers live teaching from how to properly make a bed to dishwasher loading tips. And don't forget the highly effective organizational skills that you share as you send everyone out the door with backpacks, lunches, hats, and coats and pats of success of each shoulder.
You teach at school because that is your job. Actually it is far more than that, it is your passion. Each child in your care is a treasure that you are guiding to success, each lesson the opportunity to ignite the lights of learning with new skills and knowledge. To the saddest eyes you bring comfort and safety, to the most curious of minds you bring wonder and inspiration, to yourself you bring joy and satisfaction.
At school you teach colleagues as you learn from them as well. buried are the days when great lessons were never shared for fear of being one-upped in presentation by another teacher. Teachers have found that collaboration with teammates and mentoring new teachers while being mentored by peers increase productivity, talents, and ease of presentation. While sometimes there is pleasure in closing the door and breathing in fresh gulps of education-laden air, there is power in flinging the gates wide and basking in the expertise of coworkers.
You will find yourself teaching in classes you take, critiquing the instructor is always a teacher's task. But you are also soaking up fresh methods and techniques to tweak, manipulate and make them workable for you and your students. Every article you read that focuses on schools wraps around your teacher's brain and exits through new teaching ideas. As a teacher you are learning; as a learner you are always teaching. No wonder you are so tired at the end of the day!
You teach in the evening from cooking lessons to homework support. While it is often hard to relinquish control of the kitchen, as teachers we know the lessons shared over food and in the home are ones that carry over into the future. Teaching those you love is often the most challenging as patience may waltz right away from the scene, but it is rewarding for today and years to come as proficiency multiplies before your eyes and marches on to the next generation.
Some non-teacher workers crawl into bed at the end of a hectic day and snooze merrily until dawn. This is a rare occurrence for a teacher as you discover yourself thrashing and crashing through exhausted fits of sleep trying to uncover the magic that will help John comprehend his reading, Mary understand equations, or Sue improve her classroom management. Though the day made you tired, the night can be overwhelming as you seek to solve the educational problems of the world. Teaching never ends (nor does learning if you want to grow).
While the 36-hour day remains elusive, perhaps you will find extra make-believe hours in the knowledge that you are creating a difference now and for years to come in the lives of all you touch. Great teachers impact student lives in thousands of ways and although you may never even learn of these, know that when you share your drive, ambition, and zeal, that energy generates to re-enthuse you with the will and force to go on as empowers those you teach.
Educational consultant; free lance writer; life coach; professional development presenter.