They Ask What Is Teaching? An Epiphany? All The Above. When Everything Syncs Correctly #WalkMyWorld

I offered my graduate student teachers an opportunity to ferret and think, critically, about where they are in the 8th week of their placement, now that they're in full swing of teaching a full load. Their epiphanies were many, but I doodled one I had for myself (knowing that I have taken my physical well-being for granted)

Teaching is physical...It is an alignment of our biological, intellectual, social, psychological, personal, and emotional capacities...Whenever one is out of whack, the potential for everything to become topsy-turvy grows stronger (Henry the Hernia, No More)

As they listed their a-ha's, I couldn't help but think of my own. Up until this medical mishap, I've never really considered the biological nature of my everything in relation to all that I do in a classroom. Everything is interconnected, and when you dapple this in a classroom with 30 bodies who are also working on their own balancing act, it may look like teaching is impossible. But it isn't...learning continues to occur. It is, however, beyond the scope of what reformers contest and, I'd argue, it takes more professional self-awareness than ever before to meet the multifaceted needs of an ever-changing society.

Here is what some of the students had to say:

Insights from Seminar

• It’s better (and easier) if I sit back and let the students come to me. Waiting…stepping back…and silence gives them space to police themselves. (Daily affirmations help, too) - Lindsay
• Fighting the will isn’t always the answer. Sometimes the breakthroughs aren’t readily seen. The job is emotional. ~Sarah
• P p p p oker face. Body language is part of the equation (they might be thinking out of their ###, baby) ~Lindsay
• Student laziness is not a promotion of learning ~ Emily S.
• Passion doesn’t make teaching easier. Big projects need more than week. Don’t work a second job on the weekend ~ Emily S
• Love doesn’t make teaching easier, either; especially on a rollercoaster that is teaching middle school. ~Alexandra
• They are just kids, after all. Drag them, kicking and screaming (with confidence) ~Amanda
• The profession is a constantly moving entity…even grading. Efficiency needs to be on the radar.
• How is one ‘to be’ while in the classroom? What is the Tao of teaching? Is there an elixir? ~Frank
• Pick and choose the battles wisely (It’s okay to get ticked off) ~ Lori
• Even not so hot lessons can be educational ~ John
• Be cautious of leniency…it catches up when grades are due ~ Juli

And with that I will set forth on another day of recovery...and teaching, of course.