We are Life-Changing Teachers!

I can still remember the pink gingham dress my mother picked out for me to wear on my first day of kindergarten.  I remember how excited I was to finally be able to go to school.  I actually attended school here in Charlotte County at Meadow Park Elementary.  I had Mrs. Irwin as my kindergarten teacher.  She was kind, caring, fun, and pretty.  Although, I can remember reading, coloring, and playing, I can’t remember specific academic lessons I learned.  I do however, remember how she made me feel.  I decided then, that I wanted to be a teacher. 

Over the next dozen years, I had teachers who were passionate about their job and I had teachers who were not.  I am sure that all of you can think of those few teachers who left a lasting impression on you.  Those teachers who changed and molded you into who you are today.  Those teachers that you would consider unforgettable and life changing. 

Recently, I came across an article in a blog at https://www.edutopia.org/article/6-traits-life-changing-teachers-betty-ray titled 6 Traits of Life-Changing Teachers.

In education there’s a lot of talk about standards, curriculum, and assessment—but when we ask adults what they remember about their education, decades after they’ve left school, the answers are always about their best teachers.  So what is it about great educators that leaves such an indelible impression? If the memory of curriculum and pedagogy fades with time, or fails to register at all, why do some teachers occupy our mental landscape years later? We started getting curious: What are the standout qualities that make some teachers life changers?

To answer this question, we asked our Facebook community directly. Over 700 responses poured in from teachers, parents, and students. When we analyzed the responses, some clear patterns began to emerge, across all age ranges and geography—even subjects.

Each trait includes detailed information in the blog.  I hope that you can take time to read it in its entirety.  I will just pull bits and pieces of the information for each life-changing trait.  It makes my heart happy to know that the teachers here at Myakka River Elementary possess all 6 of these traits.

1.       Life-Changing Teachers Help Their Students Feel Safe

The research is unequivocal: People can’t learn if they’re anxious, frightened, or in trauma. Safety is part of the education starter kit. Unsurprisingly, many of our readers recalled that the best teachers establish a culture of safety and support in their classrooms, whether it’s physical, emotional, or intellectual.

2.       Life-Changing Teachers Possess a Contagious Passion

A passion for education is in the blood of the best teachers—the word passion showed up 45 times in our audience responses—and the best teachers pass it on to students.

3.       Life-Changing Teachers Model Patience

Learning can be slow and messy. Classrooms are filled with students—sometimes more than 30 at a time—who arrive each day with different emotional needs, and learn at wildly different speeds. Remarkably, life-changing teachers find a way to stay calm amid the chaos and play the long game, giving their students the time and support they need to learn.

4.       Life-Changing Teachers Know When to Be Tough

If life-changing teachers are patient, they also know when to change gears and get tough. They’re the teachers who challenge us to be better students and better humans—and then up the ante and demand that of us.

5.       Life-Changing Teachers Believe in Their Students (and Help Them Believe in Themselves)

The power of a teacher’s simple, unequivocal belief in a student was mentioned almost 70 times by respondents. Most of us have had some sort of self-doubt, but many students are crippled by it. Life-changing teachers have the gift of seeing potential in kids when others don’t, and then have the perseverance to help the children find it within themselves.

6.       Life-Changing Teachers Love Their Students

Respondents used the word love a whopping 187 times (and that’s not counting an additional 157 heart emojis). Showing love for students—through small but meaningful gestures of kindness—is far and away the most impactful thing life-changing teachers do.

Taking a step back, it appears that the most direct and longest-lasting way to reach a child—to really make a difference in his or her life—is through so-called non-cognitive dimensions like passion, patience, rigor, and kindness. And when students are lucky enough to find a life-changing teacher, the benefits last a lifetime. In many cases, those students take up the vocation themselves: 145 of the people who responded to our question had become teachers, passing the gift of education forward to the next generation.

Thank you for changing lives every day!

I also wanted to share this video that came across my news feed this weekend.  This principal is not your typical principal, but his number one goal is to make all his students feel loved.  https://www.facebook.com/whatweseee/videos/1580623271997035/