Restart and Refresh

After a hiatus from blogging, I am returning with a refreshed and renewed mindset.  I began blogging two years ago with my post "New Beginnings", and coincidentally, I could title this post the same thing.  I became a mother to my baby boy, Henry, this past May.  Being a mother has instilled a new sense of purpose in my life, as well as in the classroom.  Each night when I watch the evening news, I am reminded as to how chaotic and crazy our world can be, but I am also reminded of the responsibility I have not only as a mother now, but as a classroom teacher, to encourage our youth to curate their passions and skills into a future where they contribute to a positive and successful society.

Henry Thomas
(Humble Mom Brag)

One of the best parts about teaching is the fact that we get a new beginning every year.  Not many other professions can say that about their livelihood.  We have all read more than enough articles and blog posts about the exhausting and draining nature of the teaching profession that one can only truly understand if they have stepped foot into a classroom as a teacher. I would be lying to say I have never found myself in a state of utter defeat.  However, it's reassuring to know that these attitudinal phases are common among the profession.  According to the New Teacher Center, first year teachers experience this sense of survival and disillusionment, but I would argue even experienced teachers can travel through these same phases on any given year of their career.

http://www.newteachercenter.org/blog/phases-first-year-teaching

As I travel through the anticipation stage, I am reminded again of my purpose as an educator in our world today.  Since the survival phase is looming, I have reflected on some important aspects to hopefully prolong the survival phase, and maybe completely eliminate the dreaded disillusionment phase this year.

Student Learning: Ultimately we enter into this profession for one reason: helping students learn.  We understand the complex nature of this seemingly simple task.  However, if we plan with the idea of student learning always in the forefront of our minds, then we are moving in the right direction.  Students are the reason we are in the classroom, and when we lose sight of that, we lose sight of our purpose.

Compassion: Another unique nature of our profession is our clientele - adolescents.  We are all aware of the psychological and physical changes happening during adolescence. We need to be there to guide our students down the avenues that will help them choose success.  We cannot make their decisions, but we can provide support.  This is where compassion becomes the single most important trait we must keep in mind when working with our clientele.  If we always remember to be compassionate, we will be providing our students with arguably the most important thing they need at this moment in their life: a safe place with someone who cares.

Remembering YOU: Often times, educators (or any working member of society) get caught up in the demands of their work and forget about themselves.  I strongly believe one of the secrets to being successful at your job is to take time away from the work and do something for yourself.  Becoming a mother has made this theory more clear than ever.  Thus why I am also picking up the blogging pen again too.  The reason we become overworked and drained is because we forget to take care of ourselves.  To live our purpose, we must also be a bit selfish.

As we move forward with this school year, it is important to remember this year is another new beginning.  We need to celebrate our small successes and always remember our purpose.  It is my hope for Henry that one day, when he turns on the evening news, he will see a world where we work together instead of against each other, and where we use our unique skills to contribute to the good our society has to offer, as opposed to simply ignoring our own special set of skills and passions.

In the meantime, I will continue to take small steps in the environment I have been given to help contribute to my vision...