Teaching Philosophy

Are you having fun?

Bret Olson3 Comments

I love finding good quotes, they are short and to the point (to be fair they are often ambiguous and generalized as well) and they usually come with a certain message.  Recently I was cruising the Twitter-sphere, as I try to do once or twice a week, following my favorite hashtag #edchat.  I saw a tweet that said,

 

This got me thinking, how many of our teachers are having fun while they are teaching?  Now, I know that there can’t be a person alive who is always having fun, it’s just not possible, we’re human.  BUT, what about the majority of the time?  Last week I wrote about our kids being bored in class, what about you?  No one wants you to teach to a certain style, in fact, I want to encourage you to show yourself in the way you teach.  Everyone here is awesome, fun, and full of passion…don’t be afraid to show it in the classroom!!  I know that we’re all here because we love what we do and we enjoy the kids, teaching, learning, seeing those lightbulbs go on over kids heads; but what are we doing to make sure that we’re having fun?  I’d love to hear back from people this week about things they try in their classrooms to make it fun for themselves…maybe it’s a simple game for the last two minutes, or a certain style of presentations, or perhaps something you imbed into every lesson.  Anything and everything is welcome!!!  Please share and I will share out things I hear back!

Teachers as Role Models

Bret Olson1 Comment

Middle School is perhaps the most stressful time of a person’s life (at least until high school, ha!)…they are growing, changing, and trying to figure out who they are as people all while they are under constant pressure from their peers to “fit in”. How can they fit in when not one of them even knows who they are themselves?!? It blows my mind to think back to my middle school years and think that I even made it out alive, let alone somewhat normal 🙂 Which brings me to us, the teachers, the leaders at school, where do we fit into this messy and chaotic existence? I would suggest that it’s part of our responsibility to be role models and positive examples for these kids. They watch our every move, they mimic our language, they critique us, and they take countless unspoken lessons away from each and every interaction. Whether you know it or not our kids are paying attention, even if it seems like they’re not, they are! I’ll never forget the day (during my first year as a teacher) that I set my kids to the task of creating an acting scene to show their knowledge of vocabulary words…One brave group included a character called Mr. Olson…and boy was I surprised by the way they viewed me, some flattering, some indifferent, and plenty of humbling impersonations!! My point is that the kids have eyes and they’re always watching…what are we showing them, both intentionally and unintentionally? Are we reading during SSR and modeling? Do we have typos or grammatical errors on handouts or assignments? Do we speak with respect to students and/or other teachers? Overall, it goes without saying, we are amazing people and we are extremely good role models for our children but I also think that sometimes we let our guard down and we let the cracks show…and our kids don’t miss a beat!! What do you think I’d love to hear your thoughts? Enjoy my two cents and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

A couple takes: Teachers as role models blog and an awesome tip for parents that is worth reading for everyone!!