Lately I've been realizing that the things that make me a good teacher are not-so-desirable traits in the real world.
Stubborn
This is helpful when dealing with a difficult student. If a kid tries to argue with me... Well, I feel sad for him/her, because I will always win. This causes problems in my personal life when everyone is trying to tell me that something is a bad idea, and I refuse to listen.
Trying to save people
This is a great trait for teachers to have, right? Seeing a kid who's in trouble and trying to turn their life around by loving them and setting a good example and giving them good advice... Unfortunately, this does not work so well when people are grown. I have a problem with wanting to save people. I get downright pushy when I'm trying to fix their lives. And the more I love you, the worse I get. It's really hard for me to acknowledge that people have to take responsibility for their own lives.
Picky
I am picky about most things in life. This is good in the classroom because kids need structure, procedures, and consistency. I show students exactly how I want things done, and it prevents chaos and disorganization and behavior problems. When you are camping with friends, however, they do not want to be shown how you want things done. "No, that bag can't touch the dirty ground!" "The blankets have to be tucked in around our feet!" "Put the plastic mat facing upside down on the ground so that when you put it back in the car it won't get the car dirty!" (I would like to comment here that Bernie has the patience of a saint because he has learned all of my camping procedures and does them without complaint.
Opinionated
It's beneficial for me to be opinionated in the world of education because I have research to back up my opinions. I advocate for research-based, best practice teaching techniques and am not shy about sharing my opinions with coworkers. (Usually in a polite manner.) I am also opinionated on how people should be living their lives. Kind of like item #2, the closer you are to me, the more opinionated I am. I have opinions because I care. Unfortunately, I do not always have research to back up my opinions. And people do not always want to hear what I think.
Bossy
I tell people what to do all day. I do it politely, but it's still happening. And it's a good thing at work, because otherwise I'd have no classroom management. But this carries over into my personal life. I need more people (other than my mom) to call me out on it. Right now I'm working on not starting so many sentences with "You should..."
I wonder if other teachers struggle with these things, too...
Stubborn
This is helpful when dealing with a difficult student. If a kid tries to argue with me... Well, I feel sad for him/her, because I will always win. This causes problems in my personal life when everyone is trying to tell me that something is a bad idea, and I refuse to listen.
Trying to save people
This is a great trait for teachers to have, right? Seeing a kid who's in trouble and trying to turn their life around by loving them and setting a good example and giving them good advice... Unfortunately, this does not work so well when people are grown. I have a problem with wanting to save people. I get downright pushy when I'm trying to fix their lives. And the more I love you, the worse I get. It's really hard for me to acknowledge that people have to take responsibility for their own lives.
Picky
I am picky about most things in life. This is good in the classroom because kids need structure, procedures, and consistency. I show students exactly how I want things done, and it prevents chaos and disorganization and behavior problems. When you are camping with friends, however, they do not want to be shown how you want things done. "No, that bag can't touch the dirty ground!" "The blankets have to be tucked in around our feet!" "Put the plastic mat facing upside down on the ground so that when you put it back in the car it won't get the car dirty!" (I would like to comment here that Bernie has the patience of a saint because he has learned all of my camping procedures and does them without complaint.
Opinionated
It's beneficial for me to be opinionated in the world of education because I have research to back up my opinions. I advocate for research-based, best practice teaching techniques and am not shy about sharing my opinions with coworkers. (Usually in a polite manner.) I am also opinionated on how people should be living their lives. Kind of like item #2, the closer you are to me, the more opinionated I am. I have opinions because I care. Unfortunately, I do not always have research to back up my opinions. And people do not always want to hear what I think.
Bossy
I tell people what to do all day. I do it politely, but it's still happening. And it's a good thing at work, because otherwise I'd have no classroom management. But this carries over into my personal life. I need more people (other than my mom) to call me out on it. Right now I'm working on not starting so many sentences with "You should..."
I wonder if other teachers struggle with these things, too...
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