"When we learn how to teach, we must also consider what it will feel like to teach."
Chapter 5: Tech & Reclaiming Value
Chapter 5 explores the impact of classroom technology—from smartphones and gaming to generative AI—further developing the premise that while teachers may be positioned in charge, they are rarely in full control. The author candidly addresses the disheartening reality of digital distractions that undermine a teacher’s authority and dilute the learning environment. By examining the daily struggle against constant screen time, this chapter guides educators toward reclaiming their professional worth and authority. Ultimately, it issues a call to action for teachers and leaders alike: we must critically re-evaluate what we allow in our classrooms, resetting expectations to restore the integrity and value of the learning space.
ReflectionQuestions
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What elements in your teaching life have eroded your time, effort, and hard work? In what ways can you actively reclaim the worth you bring to your classroom and professional space? As a vital reminder: you are the most valuable presence in that room.
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If you are positioned to manage electronics in the classroom, how have they enhanced and hurt your teaching experience? How have electronics in your classroom made you feel?
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Teachers must engage in their own introspective understanding to build resilience and empowerment in their classrooms. The author shares her own self-learning, regarding feelings of inferiority, insecurity, approval-seeking, and people-pleasing. In your teaching life, what is the introspective learning you have experienced and how have you chosen to move this knowledge to empowerment?
QUOTES
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“Phones and AI are here to stay, sure, but they have made our teaching jobs even more complicated than they were years ago.”
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“In the complex world that is teaching, we must evaluate what we want to allow and what we don’t want to allow."
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“Teachers are emotionally fatigued and drained by ‘teaching,’ simply because they aren’t able to do what they want to do: Teach.”
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“Teachers are in the middle of the chain. They can’t do their jobs effectively without administrative support and student cooperation.”
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“Don’t allow someone else to devalue your value.”
