Skip to main content

Why Am I An Educator? #SAVMP

This is such a heart filled question. How can I truly express this childhood passion? I know that for some people, being an educator is an important job that they pour their hearts into, but in the end it's "just a job". Once a colleague of mine told me that there is more to life than school and that this job is not who we are. I completely disagree with that. For me being an educator is a calling. This job is part of who I am. It is an honor and a privilege to work with children and teenagers on a daily basis.

I guess that I should be quoting some famous author, thinker, or innovator, about greatness in education, but I can't.  Three things come to mind: Ms. Lewis, my school experience and stewardship.

Ms. Lewis was my kindergarten teacher and one of the most extraordinary people that I have ever met. She ran our class with respect and dignity; she exposed us to the world in a creative manner, but most of all she loved and cared for the entire class. Ms. Lewis showed us all of this with a simple hug, help with an activity, or just a smile. We all loved her dearly. At the end of kindergarten I knew I wanted to be a teacher. I wanted to care for kids just as she did.

I watched the clock closely in the following 11 years. Elementary school and high school seemed to go on for an eternity. Being one of the few visual minorities in my elementary school, I never really fit in(from a racial perspective). Taunting and teasing appeared to be the norm. One of my French teachers contributed to the discrimination by calling on me as "Natasha mon petit chocolat". Then I went to high school, and it was more diverse, but I still did not fit in. I didn't want to be identified by my race so I forged a few close friendships. I kept wondering, what happened after kindergarten? Why wasn't learning as fun? What happens if your teacher is too strict? Or cannot control the class? At times it didn’t seem as if all of my teachers really cared about me. How could I inspire and guide students when it seems to go downhill after kindergarten? How could I show them that I care? A few of my teachers served as beacons of greatness. They managed to teach and inspire me, while ensuring that the mood in the classroom was light. Those teachers reminded me why I wanted to be a teacher and kept that flame within me burning.

Then I finally became an educator. I remembered that great teachers provided a safe place for students to grow and learn. Finding a balance between classroom management, facilitating learning, and forging relationships would be ideal. Meeting with students, their parents, and my colleagues has opened my eyes to so much. I realized that leading is about following, listening, and learning.

As an educator I would definitely consider myself a steward leader.  In Thomas J. Sergiovanni's article Leadership as Stewardship he quotes Mary Giella, saying "My role is one of facilitator. I listened to those who taught the children and those who were school leaders. I helped plan what they saw was a need. I coordinated the plan until those participating could independently conduct their own plans." This is the kind of leader that I strive to be.

Why did I become an educator? I wanted to be a game changer in the educational world. Someone who helps empower others to go forward in a responsible and positive manner.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

What Makes You Credible? #SAVMP

Why should I give you a chance? Can I rely on you? Why should I trust you? Have you ever felt like those questions were/are the unsaid or unheard 'elephant in the room'? Over the past 3 and a half years I have been on a journey to build credibility with my staff and colleagues. I entered the school not only as a new addition to the staff, but new to the position. It seemed like I would never get to a place where people could trust me or feel like I was able to help support the staff effectively. I have to say that this has been a difficult blog for me to write. I am not sure if I have figured out the formula for credibility. At this stage in my career I find myself reflecting on my practices weekly and wondering what areas need to change. With all the recent changes,  my credibility is definitely on my mind. The more articles I read and the more people I spoke to, made me realize that I need to hone in on specific areas if I want to grow in terms of my leadership. I ...
4 comments
Read more

Bringing Parents Into The Learning Process #SAVMP

I have to confess, upon receiving this blog challenge I resorted to research. There was a lot of literature about why parents should get involved. There were also suggestions given as to how you can get parents from middle-upper  class communities involved. Gaining parent involvement in a low socioeconomic community has always been a challenge for me (and my research did not result successfully in this area). I have been very fortunate to work with an incredible staff. Our staff continually forges relationships with the students and their parents. Keeping the lines of communication open through positive feedback and social media seems to have increased parental awareness of school information and activities. It is great to have parents commenting on facebook posts of activities in the school or even ask questions about school life. This has proven to be an open door to communication. In order to further forge relationships with parents we had to get creative. We invit...
4 comments
Read more

Bringing About Change is Tricky Business #SAVMP

1. "It's just the kids and I." After my last post in February, I set out to make some changes because I realized that the staff did not feel empowered  and that change was necessary in order to move forward. As I searched for ways to empower the staff it became evident that some teacher's strengths were being overlooked. The methodology and pedagogy behind technology in the classroom are new to many teachers in my school.  It turns out that there are several staff members that can give digital literacy & pedagogy workshops to their colleagues. Their willingness to do so provided opportunities for staff to feel empowered and proved to be successful. Why did I bring this up? Well, it opened the lines of communication amongst staff members and enabled them to collaborate. Unit planning no longer takes place in isolation; collaboration is becoming more common place. If someone would have asked me if this kind of collaboration could occur two years ago I would have ...
2 comments
Read more