"When we learn how to teach, we must also consider what it will feel like to teach."
Chapter 13
Even on the hardest days, a unique internal drive pushes educators to show up and give their very best. Chapter 13 explores the profound importance of reconnecting with your "why." While grounding yourself in purpose won't solve every systemic challenge, it serves as a vital reminder to re-engage the enthusiastic novice who first stepped into the profession. By reclaiming your core purpose, you gain the power to reshape your perspective, navigate tough moments with resilience, and protect your joy and compassion. Endeavor to be bold. Endeavor to be different. That is the true power of remembering your why.
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What is the single best quality of yourself that you can give to your students each day? This is your superpower. How can you maintain your superpower, even when things are difficult in your classroom? What advice do you have to help others maintain their superpower?
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When you think back to when you wanted to become a teacher, what was your reason for becoming a teacher? Is this reason the same now? Has anything affected how you felt when you started to now?
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While the pace and pressures of teaching can pull us away from enjoying the work, we have the choice to find moments of joy each day. What are your small moments of joy that occur in your teaching day and that occur in the broader experience of your teaching career?
ReflectionQuestions
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“Let’s not give people permission to treat us however they want. That leads us to disempowerment. Remember, always, our thoughts, our words, and our actions signal to others how we deserve to be treated.”
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“We have the opportunity in teaching to better the situations in front of us. All we ever need and want is a bettering. Not a perfecting.”
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“There is something in you that makes you do this job–and do it well–even within all the difficulty.”
QUOTES
RESOURCES
