As we embark upon a new school year there are many fears that bubble up from inside. As educators we often doubt our special capabilities and giftedness and hide it until its too late. Naming our fears can be therapeutic, but once its named -follow it up with focus and foresight.
Fear: Fear is so real. It's crippling. It's the decider of decisions. The stronghold of external factors has stifled the way we demonstrate autonomy in our classroom spaces because of the tiers of detractors at the school level, community level, and national level.
The Educator's Tier of Fear
Combating these fears require intervention and support. However, ALL educators need an outlet. Outlets come in so many different forms: faith, community, therapy, exercise, family, and rest. Find your outlet or fear will grip you and cause you to quit prematurely or have an out of character moment - maybe at the place where you feel the grip of fear the most - at school.
Focus: What Can You Control?
You can control how you show up to school and the way you prepare to show up.
You are in charge of:
your morning routine,
your lesson planning,
your classroom structure, and
the culture of your classroom.
Design it to make it a place that's worthy of your occupancy. That way for however long you're in there you can smell, taste, hear, touch, and smell an environment of peace and respect. Strive for that!
Foresight: What Could Be
Dream. Dream about what could be if you stay committed. This could be applicable in many areas of our lives but there's no other profession as consequential as ours.
If we reshift our thinking to imagine a world impacted by our passion for teaching and learning then perhaps that foresight can drive us to our core of why we chose this profession or why it chose us.
You are the BEST. Here's to another remarkable school year!