I get to talk to a lot of teachers. I love it. I love connecting with other educators and picking their brains to helps spark great ideas for the classroom whether it be a project, hands-on activity, or a way to better establish relationships and develop a positive classroom culture.
However, one thing I seem to run into a lot of the time is the lack of confidence teachers feel in their own profession and their own work. Most teachers are proud to be teachers and LOVE working with kids of all ages. But many teachers won't say that they're a "good teacher" or feel hesitant about sharing their lessons or activities.
Here's the things. Sometimes, we as teachers are too humble.
Yep. I said it.
We do amazing things in the classroom...but either we don't think it's amazing or we are afraid to sound like we're "bragging" or "tooting our own horn."
I say...TOOT AWAY!
We NEED the world to see how awesome we are.
Ok..."world" might be a little extreme to start out with. So let's start out with our communities.
We NEED our communities to see how awesome we are. We need to invite the people in our towns and cities into our classrooms...either literally or virtually. They need to see what is going on inside the classroom in order to understand the time, effort, and work that goes into it.
It's almost school shopping time around here...and that means we'll be seeing all kinds of stories about how much of our personal money teachers spend on school supplies. It's true. It happens. But that narrative has been told.
So...try this. Instead of taking a picture of your shopping basket with supplies your purchased for your classroom. Take a picture of a lesson you've been working on that your SO EXCITED to do with your kids in August...and then...share a picture of your kids working on it. (Take pictures of the finished results or hands working on it if you can't show your students faces.) Let your community see that. Your parents will thank you! That opens up conversation that they can have with their children at home. "Oh...tell me about that cool activity you did in science today, I saw a picture online!"
Don't be afraid to let someone into your classroom. Don't be afraid to share the awesome stuff you're doing...because I know you're doing awesome stuff! We all are! We just need to take down the walls and stop hiding it.
Because it's time.
Time for people to know how GOOD you are!
