What Inspired you to be a Teacher
- Jan 30, 2019
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 30, 2019
Day #1
Last year, as a Leadership Team we made a mistake by starting the first day of the term with a Professional Development Day. The PD was great, however, there was too much information, far too soon with too much pressure to get up and going. We never really took the time to ease our way back into it in a manner that allowed teachers to feel supported and prepared for their students to arrive. The feedback from staff suggested this, but I think we all knew upon reflection anyway. I felt like we were playing catch up all term to a degree. So it was a relief to know that in preparation for 2019, things wouldn't be as full on.
We went a different route this year and there is a definite change in the air within the school. Teachers seem to be a lot more relaxed and prepared. Hopefully I'm not imagining it!
The purpose of this post is to share a simple team building activity we ran yesterday morning which I feel was successful in helping build trust.
WELCOME
The day started with a welcome and introduction from our Prin, covering some information about new facilities, welcoming new staff etc. We then had an opportunity to talk to someone we didn't work directly with or know. It's an familiar activity, but one I haven't done in a while. I enjoyed having the change to chat to one of our new teachers. Knowing a few small things about them is such a simple way of building empathy and ultimately trust.
The next part was our AP Jeff, who acted as a bit of an MC for the day, describing to us a story about his 41 years in teaching. He set the tone for the day in that everything we were about to do was with the buzz of a new year, getting to know others and building relationships.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BE A TEACHER?
When planning for this morning, I was wrapped when Aleesha (Leading Teacher) & Heidi (Assistant Prin) liked the idea of having a conversation with someone about the answer to the above question. I have done it during a few presentations at conferences, and am astounded by the depth and level of conversation strangers can have in talking about it. Often, this is something we each individually hold dear. It is the "Call to Adventure" in the Hero's Journey, the moment, conversation, chance encounter, that leads us on the path of becoming a teacher.
For this activity, we asked our staff to write down in their Learning Journals (A journal where everyone will be taking note of any PD, learning, Readings etc for the year) the answer for a few minutes. Then people partnered up & shared their story.
The noise in the room was huge as the conversation erupted.
DESCRIBE 3 TIMES WHEN YOUR JOB SATISFACTION WAS AT ITS PEAK
Aleesha took the lead with this part, sharing her story of what inspired her to be a teacher. Prior to this, Aleesha, Jeff and I had a discussion about the morning to make sure we were on the same page. Aleesha used an example of how a student might share something personal with another student, like their Mum was sick, or dog died. Then after the weekend, that student might just say, "hi" or "how's it going?". How would that student feel that shared that information? They don't care about me? The didn't listen?
It's the same for us as teachers.
And that's why sharing stories is so powerful.
After sharing her story, the next task was to write down key moments that define us as a teacher. I'll share some of my examples.
* Having parents say years after you taught their child that I made a real difference in their child's life.
* Having a mentor that supported me
* Working in a team where everyone trusted one another
* Being able to help others achieve success and growth.
* Playing local footy in the seniors against a former student (made me feel very old!)
* Implementing Google Apps into our school for our students
* Overcoming a serious incident on a Grade 5 camp with the team of teachers at the time
To share these stories, we split into groups of the 3s and asked staff to identify the themes present in those stories.
WHAT INSPIRES YOU TO CONTINUE TO BE A TEACHER?
The previous activities led to this point, where we wanted to find out the answer to this. We had three main purposes for doing this.
1. To help people find out why they are teaching & remember that when things become challenging.
2. So Aleesha and I would know it to be able to help staff when we begin Coaching for the year. (Which is a big part of our role)
3. For teams to know more about themselves to build a high level of trust
I shared a defining moment for me of taking Sabbatical Leave and how it energized my teaching career. I have written about the experience of travelling to India in previous posts, but that moment has led to me getting to a point where I have seen how lucky we are to have our jobs, and my role as a Leading Teacher gives me the opportunity to help others find meaning in their work, which I think everyone needs in their life.
And that defining moment led me to be able to answer what continues to inspire me to be a teacher.
Much of the idea for this activity came from the book FIND YOUR WHY. It describes to have teams think about the contribution you've made in those moments that have effected others. For us, it was more about finding an underlying theme within each of those moments. Was it teamwork, inspiring, trusting, nurturing, determination, not giving up etc.
Rather than talk about these, we just had staff write them down. Then we shared the video below.
I watched this briefly beforehand after Aleesha suggested we chuck it in. But watching it in the room with everyone, I felt afterwards like I was about to go to battle, or run out for a big game of footy! It made the hair stand on the back of my neck.
I don't know how I hadn't seen it before.
“WHEN WE WORK WITH A CLEAR WHY IN MIND, WE SHOW UP EVERY SINGLE DAY WITH A FEELING WE ARE PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER THAN OURSELVES.”
Simon Sinek
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