The Teacher Project

Building a teacher, like nurturing a child, is a personal experience and no two experiences are the same…. I know, that is not a rocket science grade of statement, but the truth is really hitting me as to the uniqueness of each of our experiences.  As I scan through some of my colleagues blogs, it becomes clear that the ‘teacher project’ is as unique for adults as the identity project is for adolescents; while the experiences are similar, what we are getting out of these experiences is vastly different.

I am very much the kind of person that likes to have all their ducks in a row before taking the next step…I like to succeed on the first attempt and am less likely to try if I am not convinced within myself that my first attempt will be success. I am sure that that is not a unique position, but I do know many who just want to leap in and problem solve later. I now realize that jumping in getting the feet wet is the only way to learn to teach.

That said, I am ready for this semester to be complete, and although I have my reservations, I am ready to get the feet wet…after all, that is what these last 3 1/2 years have been about.   I cannot say that I want to stand and deliver as much as I need to do so…I have heard some say that teaching is not a career that we choose as much as it is a career that chooses us.  For me too stand and deliver is a natural (albeit large) step from my previous life as a door shop supervisor.  Instead of teaching 1 on 1, I will be teaching 1 on 30…instead of evaluating for the sake of raises, I will be evaluating for report cards…the only real difference from my past life is the level of liability and the fact that I cannot fire those who do not live up to my expectations.

Have a great week,

Greg