Not another teacher whining about being misunderstood, unappreciated and underestimated, you might say. No, I am not complaining. I am just trying to figure out the mindset of an average teacher. As I was having my coffee this morning, browsing through the home page on Facebook, I saw a number of posts related to teaching. (Need I mention that I am a member of thirty-some FB groups for educators!) There are quite a few summer courses and conferences organised at the moment, all of which with an impressive number of attendees. And I can’t help wondering whether people in other lines of work dedicate their summer holiday to professional development.
With these thoughts lingering in my mind, I came across this infographic
And my brain was instantly set in motion: Should I post it in my teaching blog? Or show it to my students at the beginning of the new school year (by the way, it begins on September 1st!)? How would it make them feel? Would they feel intimidated? The suggested paths imply getting out of the comfort zone of memorising and reproducing the facts being taught. (Something they are used to and which I have been fighting against all my teaching career.) They promote creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, development of communicative skills, and digital fluency. Then I began doubting my abilities to help them become ready for all that lies before them when they leave school.
Eventually I stopped this chain of thoughts and told myself: ‘Give yourself a break, woman! It’s the middle of your summer holiday. Why worry now? There’s plenty of time ahead. Besides, don’t you have some personal issues to attend to first? Why don’t you spend some quality time with your family or do something for yourself? After all, you know you will give your best. And even if you fail, it won’t stop you from trying!’