The Art of Teaching

Sweater: Thrifted (J.Crew) | Skirt: Thrifted (Vintage) | Shoes:  | Purse: Sam Moon 

A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite the imagination, and instill a love of learning.
 - Brad Henry

I feel like I have been sooooooo ABSENT from the blog lately.......really since the beginning of this year. Ever since I got back from New York in January it seems like I have been going non stop. I have been studying and taking my certification tests (which has been a trying process) and I also started subbing a few days a week this spring.
If you remember me talking about my plans after graduation, I had decided not to get a teaching job right away, but to just sub and that is what I have been doing. Subbing is great because it has gotten me back into the classroom so that I can still work on my classroom management, get a feel for different schools and classroom atmospheres and overall just keep me in a teacher mindset.
Although I don't actually get to teach lessons when I sub, I have been able to learn a lot about students learning styles, temperaments, negativity and positivity in regards to school work and see first hand what a classroom should and should not be.
If I am being honest, Teaching truly is one of the hardest things I have ever done! I have talked about my experience in teaching before (here), but it is a topic that is always changing and evolving as I discover more and have more experience in the classroom. It's not that I don't know how to teach that makes it hard, because I was thoroughly prepared in all my education classes, but more so the uncertainty of what you are walking into every day (especially when it comes to subbing). You never know how kids will act, how your classroom management will work, or how you will reach students who have no desire to learn. While we are taught and get some experience (through student teaching) with all of these aspects of being in a classroom, as a teacher I am constantly learning every time I am around students. I think teaching is more than a job, there is an art to it, and because of that it requires you to put forth every part of you to be the best teacher you can be.
I often honestly admit that teaching is draining, it's not that you are drained by the misbehavior of students necessarily or the abundance of work (though both can be the case), but drained because you put forth both physical, cognitive, and emotional effort every day.
Between walking around and checking up on students/monitoring work, figuring out ways to helps students learn or reach those that are struggling and sometimes taking on the weight of hearing students share things with you (or notice things they are going through) it requires so much of who I am as a person. As a somewhat "highly sensitive person" (HSP...this is typical of many INFJ's and Introverts) I soak up and take on many of the emotions of people around me, all to often seeing and recognizing the brokenness of people and the world and being affected by it. While this can be extremely hard mentally and physically, it also makes me a better teacher because I see what students are going through and it helps me find ways to help them learn, try to reach them despite their aversion to learning, and encourage them in the midst of tough times.
I have always held to the philosophy that every student has the ability to learn and succeed, they just need someone to believe in them and believe that they have the capability to be great! This comes with building a report and relationship with students so that they come to respect you as you respect them, opening doors of opportunity for influence and encouragement.

Are you a teacher or thinking about becoming one?

-Madison