Hello everyone!
Long time no see!
I've kind of faded away from using this account as the years have gone on but I was thinking recently about getting back into it. And I thought a good place to start would be some of the things I've learned over my last 6 years of teaching. So here it goes... Some of these may sound basic or obvious, but they're messages that have really cemented for me as I continue to work in this career.
First, let me reintroduce myself.
1. Teaching is political
As much as I despise the politics of teaching (I've never been one to not speak my mind when I disagree with someone or strategically make connections with people in a given field), teaching is inherently political. We are setting our students up to live in a world where they will have to work with others and exist within a society. The values we hold in our classrooms, especially with our youngest kids, set them up for what they consider important. What do we want to promote in our classroom societies? Will they hold onto those same values as they grow up? What if those values differ from the other societies they are a part of?
Additionally, the political decisions around school funding, curriculum, books, etc directly impact our students. Who decides which standards should be taught? What books are allowed in the classroom? What decor can be on the walls? Those decisions and how we choose to address them are political. And depending on where you work, you may or may not be able to have conversations about your feelings around these decisions. But it is important to think about how these policies affect you and your students and keep in mind your role in the systems at play.
This was such a hard thing for me to learn because I'm not used to thinking in 3D chess moves about what I can and can't say about my political beliefs. I never liked politics, so to me, saying what you believed was not political. But now I realize how political our existences are. Just being who I am, being visible, is political. I'm still learning how to balance this and it differs from place to place, so be kind to the people you see who are also figuring it out.
2. No place is perfect
As a student, I always had one place in mind of where I was going to teach. Fast forward 7 years and I have worked in five separate districts. Yes some of those changes were because of personal needs (moving house, wanting a position in a different department), but some also were because my beliefs no longer aligned with the system in which I was working. It was really important to me to find a place that felt safe and welcoming, and when things didn't work out exactly how I wanted, it was discouraging. Why couldn't I find that perfect place I had always imagined? It looked so good from the outside, but then I would have experiences that I didn't like.
Everyone has always told me that I'm not going to like everything about a system I work in and I knew that intellectually, but it was harder to accept in practice. I had this idea that my dream school was going to have all the same values, great opportunities, and be exactly what I was looking for. But there are pros and cons to every position. You might love the staff you work with, but despise the curriculum. You might have a beautiful building, but lots of adult drama. No matter where you go or what you do, things are going to be imperfect. You just have to make of it what you can, and work to improve your environment around you.
3. Teaching is a team sport
As a special educator, I've worked with a lot of paraprofessionals. I've also worked in cotaught classrooms with general education teachers and teaching assistants. I have to work with supervisors, grade level teams and students' guardians. That's a lot of people and relationships to juggle! And a lot of times, I've had a hard time working with people who see things differently than me. This is something I'm continuing to work on (though my coteacher says I've grown a lot in the year we've been working together!)
It's hard to give up control. I went from having my own classroom, to working with a coteacher and TA under a completely separate program with different rules and regulations. That was so hard. And it's taught me a lot about working as a team. We need to start every relationship with respect and presuming good intent and have conversations about those things we disagree about. I'll give you one example - my coteacher shared the presentation she used for circle time (pictures of the weather, morning message) that was similar among all the classrooms at this program. I looked at it and immediately got overwhelmed by the fonts and colors they used. So I went and changed it to look more like what I had been using in my previous position. Now, looking back, I recognize how I overstepped and completely took over. Later, I was able to have a conversation and say that these fonts are easier to read for kiddos who might have dyslexia or still be learning letters like our preschoolers. I explained how having a simple background allowed the students to focus on the words rather than all the colors and shapes behind them. We were able to compromise and find a good system that worked for us, but I can't tell you that would have happened had I not explained myself. And I've learned to listen to other people, too. Don't get me wrong, I still like being in charge, but I'm much better at delegating, accepting criticism and highlighting other people's strengths. I'm now learning how to play the role of the coach or captain, assigning positions to my teammates based on what they're good at and planning out our plays.
Now, there's a lot more I've learned over my first few years of teaching, and I promise I'll get to that, but for now, those are my biggest takeaways. If you want to know more about the nitty gritty lessons I've learned (which type of calendar is best in prek, how to introduce a book, setting up centers in a new classroom) please let me know!
Love always,
Miss D
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