I started teaching in 2004, but I never started out to be a teacher. My mom is a teacher though. So, when I started teaching, I knew that I had lots of learning to do. I knew this because I saw my mom always studying, always reading a book, always going to conferences to learn more so she could change and know what the research was saying. She was always growing and learning. I needed to find ways to stay curious and motivated.
So, I knew when I started in my Spanish class that I needed to do some learning to become the educator that I wanted to be. But, before I started adding more things to my learning, I had to unlearn a couple of things.
I’m sharing with you the things that I had to unlearn to be ready to learn as a language educator. I’m also also sharing a few things that I have to do on a regular basis to be able to stay curious and grow as a language teacher, even though I face so many challenges, as you do, everyday in class.
I Don’t Teach The Same Way I Was Taught
This first one is a big one. I went to high school in Colombia and learned English from sixth to eleventh grade. English was taught to me through the PPP model, presentation, practice, and product. So, I thought I had to teach Spanish to my students the same way. Boy, was I wrong! After a while, I started to modify this approach, but it was not enough. I had to really remove this approach and embrace a different one.
Don’t think it will happen right away either. I’ve been teaching 18 years, and I still find myself going back to the PPP model at times. Keep alert at how you are teaching, and keep an open mind.
Do More Than Say “Because I’m Your Teacher”
In order for my students to trust me, they need more than me saying, “I am your teacher.” I used to be the kind of teacher that said, “Why should we do that? Because I’m your teacher, because I say so, because I’m the teacher here.” And little did I know that that wasn’t enough, especially for my students that didn’t have a good relationship with their school or that didn’t have trust with adults.
I had to remove that. I have to do more for my students to trust me by incorporating different activities and a different approach. This also helps us to build a relationship.
Students Develop At Different Paces
Another thing I had to learn was that my students will develop at a different pace. In the podcast, episode 8, I give an example of a specific experience I had that really made me think about this one.
I learned I have to be able to understand that language is developmental, that each one of our learners will develop at a different pace, and that they will acquire verbs when they’re ready to acquire the verb. This also gave me the space to be curious. So, what should I do now?
My Value As A Teacher Cannot Be Measured With Specific Results
I think this next one is the one that has helped me be so brave. It helped me try so many different things. I had to learn that my value as a teacher cannot be measured with specific results. That has been hard for me because the way that I’m evaluated in my school is with an instrument, and that instrument has numbers, and 50% of my evaluation is connected with the assessment that my students take at the end of the school year. See?
The belief that I get from that is, okay, I’m a good teacher, and my students have good results. I’m a bad teacher, and my students have bad results. But there’s so much more involved!
Since day one, I remember caring so much and so deeply about my students, and I always wanted to learn something to be better the next day. So, that makes me a great teacher! And so are you, because teachers care!
Ways To Stay Curious And Motivated
There are a couple of things that I try to do on a regular basis to stay curious and to keep growing.
Look backwards and see how far you’ve come
I try to always think about my success and see my gains and my growth. And, I measure my success backwards. My advice is for you to look backwards and measure your success backwards. Imagine how much you have learned only in COVID. Think about the new skills that you have learned, the new abilities that you developed in these two years, that’s a great win for you!
Self-Reflection
The second thing is reflecting. I want you to grab this free resource. This is a self-reflection tool. I try to do that at least once per quarter. I want to focus on the wins. something that has worked, and something positive that has happened. Look at the positive.
Surround yourself with positive people
Probably the most important way to stay curious and motivated is surrounding myself with positive people. I think in our communities, and in our profession, the negativity is heavy because we have gone through a lot, because there are so many valid reasons to be hopeless. But, I need to choose to be hopeful. And, if I want to do that, I need to choose to surround myself with people that have the same approach to our profession because those are the moments where I not only feel validated in my growth journey as a language teacher, but I also feel inspired.
I hope this episode has inspired you. I really believe that we all are somehow, somewhere Teachers of the Year. I think that the work that we do in our classes is incredibly difficult but is so important. Don’t forget to stay curious and keep growing. It’s something that is not only beneficial for our students, but for us as well.
Don’t forget to listen to episode 8 where I go into more detail about how to stay motivated and curious. Listen HERE to get all the links and resources I mentioned in the episode.
Interested in the different opportunities to learn with me and the free resources available to you during Thanksgiving week of 2022? Click HERE to learn more!
One Response
This statement right here…
“ because there are so many valid reasons to be hopeless. But, I need to choose to be hopeful. And, if I want to do that, I need to choose to surround myself with people that have the same approach to our profession because those are the moments where I not only feel validated in my growth journey as a language teacher, but I also feel inspired.”
I feel so discouraged by most teacher posts and blogs because everyone is so negative about education. I love my job and what I do. Do I wish I got paid more…of course. But I am not sure I want to do anything else…so I too want to find the educators that give me hope that education is a powerful, influencing profession that I want to continue to be a part of.