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Get Your Teach On...Reflection & Goals


 

Ho.Ly. Cow. This conference. It's hard to actually put into words how amazing it was. Seriously, take a bus, car, plane, boat, whatever you need to be a part of this conference. It was a wildly overwhelming two days, but in the best way possible. This is my fifth year of teaching, and I left feeling completely refreshed, inspired, and invigorated to go back into my classroom. All of the presenters had such a passion and fire for what they are doing, and I believe they are truly making a huge impact in the lives of their students and educators alike. I want to share the most impactful things that I learned that I want to implement RIGHT NOW. Don't even get me started on how my teaching is going to look next year. :)

Here are my top three goals for the rest of the 2017 school year:

1. Step out of my comfort zone


It is so easy to make excuses not to do something. "It's too expensive." "I don't have the time." "I don't have the energy." This list could go on and on. There were many ideas that Hope gave that I could have easily decided were "too much." However, when you don't step out of your comfort zone, you're not growing. The ultimate reason we're in the classroom is for the kids, and I can't be afraid to act silly, or sing, or dress up, if that means my kids are learning and my instruction is meaningful to their education. I want to try things that kids don't normally expect, things that are out of routine. Make the uncomfortable the new place where you live. 

2. Be creative


In college, my education professors would assign these giant units that had to be creative, integrated, and highly engaging for our students. I was always so excited to create them because I've always thought of myself as a creative individual. When I got my first real teaching job, those kinds of lessons that we had to plan in college quickly went by the wayside. "They aren't realistic for the classroom" I always used to say. What a terrible attitude for me to have! Are these kinds of lessons going to happen every day? Of course not. But that doesn't mean I shouldn't get rid of them all together. Hope taught us that we cannot control the standards, but we CAN control how to deliver our instruction. Create the unexpected for your kids and those will be the lessons that they remember for years to come. I completed my first room transformation yesterday, and it was one of the greatest days I've had with my kids this year....but more on that in a different post. :)

3. Remember "My Why"


This one really hit home, and I think it was the hardest one to come to terms with. I have lost sight of why I became a teacher, and that is a scary thing to admit when I've only been in the game for five years. "Loving teaching" and/or "loving kids" is not enough. Why did I choose to get into this crazy, stressful, highly important profession? My why is this: I teach for that "lightbulb." Seeing something click for a student, especially when they have been struggling with it for a period of time. I teach to build confidence in students so they believe they can do something with hard work and brain power. I teach to create independence in those little babies, that they learn to problem solve. I teach to instill positive values so they grow up to be productive, loving humans. That is my why. What's yours?


That's not even scratching the surface of everything that I learned, but you will need to go to Get Your Teach On to see for yourself. Thank you Hope, Wade, Chris, and Adam for challenging me to become a better educator. 





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Comments

  1. StephFebruary 25, 2017 at 5:53 AM

    Thanks for this post! I'm going to the GYTO in Orlando and I'm looking forward to walking away with just as much inspiration!!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Markers & Mason JarsFebruary 25, 2017 at 10:15 AM

    You're welcome! I hope you have a blast...I wish I was attending another one! :)

    ReplyDelete

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