You make a difference, Teach!

What do teachers make?  Pay can be little, so what inspires them to teach?  What motivates them to come to work each day?  What keeps teachers from getting burned out when the pay alone doesn't seem worth it?

Poet and teacher Taylor Mali penned one excellent answer.  He became famous for his poem (and later his book) entitled What Teachers Make.  He penned the words to this poem after a discouraging dinner party.  The host—a lawyer—seemed to be set on the idea that your income determines your importance.  For instance, the host said, “Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach. . . I mean, you’re a teacher, Taylor.  Be honest.  What do you make?”  

Taylor didn’t lash out at that moment.  In his own words, Taylor comically says, “I decided to bite my tongue instead of his and resist the temptation to remind the dinner guests that it’s also true what they say about lawyers. . .”  Taylor went home later and wrote his famous poem—the response he wished he had given.  In effect, he wrote that he makes a difference (as the T-shirt image below portrays).  His book is really meaningful for us teachers. If you buy it or the T shirt, please use this link as I get a very small commission off of each sale.  

Following is an excerpt from his poem to remind you that each of us amazing teachers are making a difference. (If you’d like, you can watch him perform the poem in the video below.)

You want to know what I make? 

I make kids wonder, I make them question. 

I make them criticize. 

I make them apologize and mean it. 

I make them write. I make them read, read, read. 

....I make a difference. 

KEEP MAKING A DIFFERENCE, EDUCATORS!  You got this! If you are looking for further encouragment for teaching, you might enjoy my blog post about noticing the good in your classroom. Click here to view it. You might also enjoy just browsing my blog archive to read all the uplifting messages

As always, hang in there, Teach!
Happy Teaching,
Frank

P.S. If you enjoyed this content, you can receive each post I publish by filling in the "follow by email" box at the top right (on the desktop version of the site)

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Make it Fun, Teach

How do you keep up your enthusiasm in the classroom?  How do you stay energetic and passionate as a teacher?  How do you stay motivated?

A critical component of enjoying teaching is to make learning fun.  When you make the content fun, you enjoy it more (and so do the students).  Figure out what excites you and creatively integrate it into your teaching somehow.  Do you like dogs?  Create math problems about dogs.  Do you love ice cream?  Eat ice cream while reading about how ice cream is made.  Do you love gardening?  Grow a mini garden for science.  Do you love basketball?  Make up a "garbage can basketball" review game or have students earn "b-ball bucks" as a classroom reward system.  Whatever you love, work it into an area that you teach. You'll soon find that you're enjoying teaching more than ever before! 

For example, I enjoy the excitement about learning that comes from field trips.  However, we are limited in the number of field trips we can take.  So, I created a virtual field trip packet.  Taking these "trips" with my class when time allows has brought back a spark of excitement.  Click here to check those out. 

If you are looking for more encouragment for teaching, you might enjoy my blog post about you exceed the average just by choosing to be an educator. (Click here to view it.) You might also enjoy just browsing my blog archive to read all the uplifting messages.

As always, hang in there, Teach!
Happy Teaching,
Frank

P.S. If you enjoyed this content, you can receive each post I publish by filling in the "follow by email" box at the top right (on the desktop version of the site)

(Click to see the resources I've created)

YOU ARE ONE, Teach!

Teachers are important.  Teacher motivation and inspiration are also important.  Consider this post a virtual hug for teachers--cuz you deserve it!

This blog post is kind of a continuation of my last post. My last post spoke of the impossible expectations placed on educators.  It quoted author Edward Everett Hale as well as the Blue Bloods TV series.  Essentially, the quote said that we can't do everything but we can do something. You can click here to read the entire post.

Today, I want to share more of that same quote by Edward Everett Hale. The first part of that quote--which I intentaially left out in the last post—states, "I am only one--but still I am one."  YOU ARE ONE! How powerful is it to believe that you are one! You may only be a small piece of each child's life story--but still you are a piece of it.  Be the best one you can be. Remember, you may only be one. But still YOU ARE ONE! In other words you can have an impact...and you are having an impact!

On a side note, if you are looking for a great show to enjoy watching (or even "binging" on), I highly recommend Blue Bloods (which is where I first heard the quote by Edward Everett Hale).  It's clean and entertaining--a combination hard to find in these days.  Check it out here:

 

You also might enjoy just browsing my blog archive to read all the uplifting messages I have posted.

As always, hang in there, Teach!
Happy Teaching,
Frank

P.S. If you enjoyed this content, you can receive each post I publish by filling in the "follow by email" box at the top right (on the desktop version of the site)

(Click to see the resources I've created)