THE AWKWARD QUESTION
Do you want to be great? That is the big question in this section. Do you want your classroom to be a place where students are engaged and building a love of learning. Working towards being great makes you a better teacher and keeps your enthusiasm and passion strong. "Teaching is a tough job filled with unbelievable hardships, hurdles, and headaches. Our profession has a notoriously high burnout rate. Unless you find something big to care about, you won't make it."
I love this quote: "A Rising tide lifts all ships". It is so true that when surrounded by greatness we too can reach our full potential. Each one of you can be the tide that keeps our building of teachers and students rising! As Burgess writes "Being your best possible self contributes to the school culture necessary to create the environment for greatness to flourish" p 146 Mediocrity doesn't motive!
Where do I Start?
I love the comments in this section about failing in the classroom. If you play it safe all the time, not only are you not having any fun with your teaching, but you are not pushing your limits in your efforts to become great. Some of the very best lessons have risen out of others that were complete disasters. "If you haven't failed in the classroom lately, you probably aren't pushing the envelope enough. You are being too safe." There is no perfect time to try out the lesson or the new strategy. You have to jump in with both feet and know that the cost of one failed lesson is not that high. "To win in the classroom, you must develop the ability to take leaps of faith. Nobody is going to die if we experiment in the classroom and it doesn't work out! More importantly, the cost of failure is far lower than the cost of standing still and losing our on all hope for progress." Burgess p158
Finding a Crew
I love the way Burgess wrapped up his book by emphasizing and validating the personal and professional relationships we as teachers develop throughout our career! One of the things that has had the strongest impact on my teaching career is the people I have met along the way. All of the opportunities I have had, has led me to develop relationships and learn from a huge variety of educators. Attending conferences and taking courses had benefited me not only from the increased knowledge but from the increased opportunity to develop relationships and share my passion with other educators.
Finding a Treasure
My biggest take-away from this book is to continue to find what sparks my passion and enthusiasm for teaching and education and to think outside the box. If you don't have passion and enthusiasm for your job than you need to find it or move onto something else! The more passion and enthusiasm you have the better your potential for becoming a great teacher. Find what fuels you and bring it into your classroom.
As I summarize the end of this journey, I have two final questions --->
HOW HAS THIS BOOK STUDY MADE YOU A BETTER TEACHER?
AND
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST " TAKE AWAY" FROM THIS BOOK? OR WHAT STATEMENT OR QUOTE IN THIS BOOK SPOKE TO YOU THE MOST?
Do you want to be great? That is the big question in this section. Do you want your classroom to be a place where students are engaged and building a love of learning. Working towards being great makes you a better teacher and keeps your enthusiasm and passion strong. "Teaching is a tough job filled with unbelievable hardships, hurdles, and headaches. Our profession has a notoriously high burnout rate. Unless you find something big to care about, you won't make it."
I love this quote: "A Rising tide lifts all ships". It is so true that when surrounded by greatness we too can reach our full potential. Each one of you can be the tide that keeps our building of teachers and students rising! As Burgess writes "Being your best possible self contributes to the school culture necessary to create the environment for greatness to flourish" p 146 Mediocrity doesn't motive!
Where do I Start?
I love the comments in this section about failing in the classroom. If you play it safe all the time, not only are you not having any fun with your teaching, but you are not pushing your limits in your efforts to become great. Some of the very best lessons have risen out of others that were complete disasters. "If you haven't failed in the classroom lately, you probably aren't pushing the envelope enough. You are being too safe." There is no perfect time to try out the lesson or the new strategy. You have to jump in with both feet and know that the cost of one failed lesson is not that high. "To win in the classroom, you must develop the ability to take leaps of faith. Nobody is going to die if we experiment in the classroom and it doesn't work out! More importantly, the cost of failure is far lower than the cost of standing still and losing our on all hope for progress." Burgess p158
Finding a Crew
I love the way Burgess wrapped up his book by emphasizing and validating the personal and professional relationships we as teachers develop throughout our career! One of the things that has had the strongest impact on my teaching career is the people I have met along the way. All of the opportunities I have had, has led me to develop relationships and learn from a huge variety of educators. Attending conferences and taking courses had benefited me not only from the increased knowledge but from the increased opportunity to develop relationships and share my passion with other educators.
Finding a Treasure
My biggest take-away from this book is to continue to find what sparks my passion and enthusiasm for teaching and education and to think outside the box. If you don't have passion and enthusiasm for your job than you need to find it or move onto something else! The more passion and enthusiasm you have the better your potential for becoming a great teacher. Find what fuels you and bring it into your classroom.
As I summarize the end of this journey, I have two final questions --->
HOW HAS THIS BOOK STUDY MADE YOU A BETTER TEACHER?
AND
WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST " TAKE AWAY" FROM THIS BOOK? OR WHAT STATEMENT OR QUOTE IN THIS BOOK SPOKE TO YOU THE MOST?