@TeachThought Day 15: Three Strengths

Today's post is to write about three strengths I have as an educator. 

One strength is my natural curiosity. I love to learn and I do everyday in class. It may be a new viewpoint on a topic we're discussing or a new tech gadget my students shared with me--it doesn't matter what it is, I know more today than I did yesterday. This keeps me young and eager to see what tomorrow holds. Learning is powerful and it's something I thrive on.

Another strength is my patience. I am by no means perfect but I've learned to succeed in classroom management through patience. I respect my students and they sense that. They know that I want to be there, with them, learning together. I give them opportunities to own classroom routines and we work as one to achieve our goals. I am do not yell, I have no need to. It's not always easy but they appreciate how I work to make History (or Effective Teens) relevant and interesting for them and that goes a long way when it comes to classroom management.

One of my greatest educator strengths is my empathy. I remember what it was like to be in middle school. I had huge glasses, braces, and a perm that someone, anyone should have talked me out of. I was awkward, shy, and not confident in myself or my abilities. I recall questioning even taking a middle school position because of this experience and saw myself as a high school teacher (those years were much easier and more fun for me). 

Thankfully, I realized that my middle school experience is exactly why I should be a middle school educator. 

I won't ever forget 6th-8th grade and that guides me everyday in my classroom. I try so hard to give my students opportunities to shine, shine in a way I wasn't able to. I already see one of my students walking a little taller and feeling more comfortable than he did when school started. (He had a look of pride on his face today when I showed him a flashcard app that I've found success with.) When I see students feeling safe to challenge their thinking in my classroom I know that I'm teaching at the right grade level. I give my all to my confident students but it's those underdogs that I make sure to take under my wing to help them soar. #teachthought #reflectiveteacher


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