Teacher Dork

I know those words don't go together right! When you think of your teacher you always think of this kind (hopefully) person who helped you to learn or tricked you into learning how to read, how to write, that Texas is not a country but a state just like Maryland, and that it is not always the best thing to just say whatever pops into your mind (especially when it's silent reading time).

This has been a hard year to be a teacher. A lot of eyes have been watching what we do and scrutinizing what we do without really knowing the heart that goes into doing what we do. We put a lot of effort into what we teach each day, always feeling like we could have done a better job. I know at the end of each lesson (and a lot of times even in the middle) I find myself thinking "Next year I'll do it this way or that way." Keeping current, I never do things the same way twice.

Where do I find the encouragement to go on? Not only to go back to school another day, but to challenge myself to make each day bigger and better. I read teacher blogs. I read them like they are a magazine. I subscribe to them. I implement their ideas into my classroom. I read them dreaming of being a master teacher, dreaming of the day when I really own my craft, getting kids to read and write and love every minute of it. As I read the faces of my kids come to my mind. I know that the squirmy one will love this lesson, she'll really be able to run with this idea. He will be able to get it if I follow that plan. Or what a great way to teach money, I'll be doing this Monday.

As I read through their blogs I'm always inspired to bigger and better lessons, projects, classroom management, teaching kids from where they are. I am always inspired, even when I have the feeling that my job does not matter because the government doesn't want to fund what I do. I am always inspire to take the minds in my classroom and mold them into thinkers, doers, helpers, compassionate, caring people. To challenge them to be bigger and better. I can't ask something of a student that I am not willing to ask of myself.

Who's been inspiring me lately?

Heather Renz, 4th Grade, Oregon http://www.mrsrenz.net/teacherzone.htm

Beth Newingham, 3rd grade, Troy, MI (LOOOOVE HER!!!) http://hill.troy.k12.mi.us/staff/bnewingham/myweb3/indexregionscrapbooks.htm

Top Teaching from Scholastic http://blogs.scholastic.com/top_teaching/


Who's been inspiring you lately?