T.E.A.C.H.er Appreciation Month, Part #4

Can you believe we've moved through the "T." "E." and "A." in our T.E.A.C.H acronym already? Time is flying by but we still have some left! Last week we focused on A- actions. This week, let's move forward to C- compassionate. 

Predictably so, compassionate is probably one of the best adjectives used to describe teachers. Teachers nurture and care for their students beyond their academics. "Teacher" is really synonymous with being caring and compassionate because educators are always putting their students' needs before their own. Often times they think about them after school, worry about their safety, and constantly think "how can I be better so he/she learns more?" There's no greater gift than those that come from the heart, even if it's just thoughts. 

As much as I could continue to say about the compassionate nature of educators, I'd like to steer in a different direction; let's focus today on the "passionate" part of compassionate. Teachers have an innate passion for teaching, and learning. Hence why teaching is lifelong learning. This ignites their desire to share that love of learning with their students (hence their compassionate nature.) Students can tell when a teacher is fully invested in a lesson and when they are not. It's true that as educators we may not like all of the subjects or content we have to teach, but infusing our own interests and flare helps to continue the momentum and increases our energy for that topic. If we want our students to get excited for a math lesson, well we need to be excited too! 

Let's find ourselves in what we teach this week educator friends and use that to fuel our passion to teach all the things we love, and even some of the things we don't. Why not create those cross-curricular lessons or infuse your favorite sport or fiction story into your discussion? Have a favorite theme or tv show? Go for it! One of my favorite things to do is have my students be "Chopped Champions" when they do their timed math drills. Before they begin they hold up their "utensil" and show they are ready. I tell them when the timer goes off they are in the "Chopped kitchen" and they are to work as quickly as possible. Prior to this, I've already explained the show to the. If you're doing this with older kids you can even show a clip! When the timer goes off they have to drop their pencil and hold their hands up like they do on Chopped, turning what is otherwise a mundane drill into a culinary math moment. Not only does this get students to feel energized about their drill, but it also adds a layer of fun for me, so I am also amped up to start this part of the lesson. 

Find what makes you excited and bring that passion into your class. When time is taken to do this, it automatically shows how much teachers love what they do, and their students. You could not have "compassionate" without the passion part! Take some time to notice the ideas that inspire others too, and thank them for it! We all appreciate the creativity of our peers, and they deserve that recognition too!

Final Thoughts- Keep showing that teachers show compassion in different ways. Keep finding your passions to share through your teaching practice. Keep inspiring your students and showing them you care deeply and therefore you will Keep making a positive difference always!