Teacher's Field Guide

7 Truths About Teaching to Help You Start off Strong, Avoid Burnout, and Stay in Love with Teaching

Kerry Hemms

• Publisher: Morgan James Publishing
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781683501855
• Topic: Pedagogía
• Subtopic: Métodos de enseñanza de la educación

Fifty percent of new teachers leave the profession within the first five years.

Of those who stay, most go through periods of burnout.

Teachers everywhere start with high hopes of making a difference, but quickly get consumed with all of the unexpected demands, leaving them exhausted and wondering if this whole teaching thing was a good idea. While there are many books focused on curriculum and teaching techniques, Teacher's Field Guide takes a unique approach by addressing the real-life needs of the teacher who is often left behind and rarely discussed by other books in the marketplace.

Teacher's Field Guide is all about that "other stuff". It offers tips, tools, and strategies to lessen the stress, and increase the joy in teaching.

It supports each teacher in seven important areas of their personal and professional lives:

• Mindset Management
• Classroom Management
• Workload Management
• People Management
• Stress Management
• Self Management
• Big Picture Management

Teachers will discover answers to questions such as:

• How can I really make a difference when it's so stressful?
• What is the simplest and easiest classroom management plan that really works?
• How do I have a life outside of school when the workload never ends?
• What is the secret to having great relationships with students, parents, administrators, and colleagues?
• What's the deal with burnout? How do I know if I have it, and what should I do if it's there?

Teachers matter, and teachers deserve to be supported and encouraged while they lead our future generations. Teacher's Field Guide is the personal support teachers everywhere have needed, and guarantees to help reverse the trend that 50% of new teachers quit within their first five years.

mindset management

Truth #1: We Begin with a Vision

Where there is no vision, there is no hope.

—George Washington Carver

Make Sure You Have Your Teaching Bookends in Place

If you are a new teacher, welcome to the most exciting journey of your life! I am so excited for you. If you are an experienced teacher, welcome to a fresh, new beginning! I know you are busy and your time is valuable, so we are going to get going right away by putting your “teaching bookends” into place. I believe that these will create the foundation for everything to come and will give you the biggest advantage possible for a long, successful teaching career.

The first bookend has to do with thinking about why we decided to become teachers in the first place. This is not a profession that we chose because we heard whispers about enormous salaries or fabulous vacation packages. We chose this profession because there is something in our hearts that wants to make a difference in the lives of others—specifically in the lives of children.

This makes teaching one of the most noble and heroic professions. It is the product of a higher calling, a soulful feeling, and a burning desire to impact future generations. As teachers, we make the conscious decision to join the greater good and leave our mark on young men and women in the classroom.

Which leads us to the other bookend: our legacy.

Over the course of your career, you will police the halls, break up arguments, and solve the mysteries of missing clothes, lunches, and homework. There will be many eyes to dry and quivering lips to still. You will ease the concern of parents who find it hard to accept the responsibility their child had in a situation, and you will nurse a wide assortment of sore stomachs, scrapes, bumps, and bruises. You will listen to heartbreaking stories, soothe hurt feelings, and help hundreds develop a better understanding of themselves and life.

In short, you will make a difference. You will leave a legacy that the little lives you touch will remember because teachers change lives—lots of lives. We do so every minute, every hour, every day, every week, and every school year. This happens because we care. We know that each student is valuable and beautiful in his or her own unique way. We care about the boys, about the girls, about their development, and about their education. That caring changes lives and leaves a legacy.

So, let’s get busy setting up your bookshelf ! Are you ready? You are now going to put the first bookend in place, which is the reason you decided to become a teacher.

The First Bookend: Your Why

When people used to ask me why I became a teacher, I would be at a loss for words. I would freeze, maybe as a defense mechanism, to block criticism and to protect myself. I would almost always want to say: “Why are you asking why? Are you inquiring because you are truly curious? Or are you asking it as in out of everything possible, why reduce yourself to teaching?”

As I reflect on the question today, I think people ask because they’re in awe of the enormous responsibility we undertake. They look at the challenge of managing their own children and wonder, “Who would intentionally sign up to take on 25 or more of these creatures that they haven’t even given birth to?!” They’re wondering how we have the size of heart and the amount of energy it takes to be able to love and lead so many, including their own, day after day, year after year. It may not be the words that cross their lips, but they’re looking at us and wondering if who they see is a hero.

Our reasons for teaching are seldom as simple as a one-sentence answer, and our reasons may change over the years. But these are the most common answers I’ve heard when teachers are asked why they chose teaching:

• “I wanted to do something where I felt I could make a difference.”

• “I love working with children/young people.”

• “I wanted a job that felt challenging, and I knew no two days would be the same.”

• “I had a teacher who showed me I mattered, that I was special, and that I was great at something. It inspired me to want to be able to do the same.”

• “I’m passionate about (my subject)! I loved the idea that I could share what I think is amazing with others. I can’t imagine anything better than seeing someone light up when this makes sense and then watching as it becomes a passion for them!”

My personal path to teaching began at the age of 12. I was an active gymnast, practicing for three to four hours per day, four days per week. After school, I would walk to the gym, show up early to practice, and I would sit on the floor doing my homework while other classes were in progress. I started to occasionally engage with the younger students who were having classes before me, and my coach noticed.

She surprised me when she asked me to teach some classes, starting with a “Mom and Tot” class. What? Me? I was intimidated and thought it was a joke. Why me? I wondered. I am only a tween! I decided to give it a try, and it was such a natural connection for me that I ended up teaching classes of all levels until I graduated high school. There was something that felt dutiful and lovely about instructing the young gymnasts, and this would become a feeling that would never leave me. It was through this experience that helping others learn became my life’s purpose.

When I was a senior, I taught the daughter of Mr. Holbrook, my high school homeroom and physics teacher. Talk about awkward. He would watch me teach the class, and I always secretly wondered, “Is he grading me?” I could only begin to consider what would happen if his child didn’t excel. It was weird! Although I was tempted to put on an impressive dog and pony show, I held back the urge to do anything different or overly spectacular when he watched. I learned to ignore the pressure and just go for it. In doing so, I ended up enjoying his cute little daughter just as much as the others. But I never knew what he thought of me.

The summer after my high school graduation, my dad unexpectedly ran into Mr. Holbrook at one of our small town events. When my father came home, I wasn’t sure what to think because he was slightly choked up while telling me about his run-in. I thought for sure that I blew it! I got nervous over the thought of letting him down. He went on to explain that Mr. Holbrook had approached him, shook his hand, looked him in the eye, and said, “I hope my daughter grows up to be just like yours.” I gulped. We then enjoyed a long hug, and both of us wallowed in that special moment of gratitude.

The reason those words carried such profound meaning is because my dad raised me on his own. My parents divorced when I turned six, and my father had full custody of all four children. He parented alone and felt solely responsible for the way I turned out as a high school senior. But I wasn’t the result of a single parent as much as I was the result of a single parent who understood the value of loving us to the core and making sure we were under the influence of good teachers.

When school began the fall after my parents’ divorce, I remember feeling unstable because I was starting my first day of first grade without a mom. I was mad! And sad! And really confused. Although I made myself look fine for the daytime hours, I constantly cried myself to sleep at night, unable to comprehend it all. It felt like my world was tumbling down around me.

So as I started school, I came to some very difficult realizations. I learned that I didn’t fit in. I learned that something was different about me. I learned that I was the only one I knew who couldn’t start or finish any sentences with the words “my mom.”

Despite his unconditional love and guidance, my dad couldn’t help me at school as I was sitting at my desk feeling so confused and surrounded with loss. I missed my mom every single day. I couldn’t make sense of it. Why would I be the one without the welcome home kiss? Without soft hands going through my hair, giving me a hug, and asking questions about my day? Why everyone else, but not me?

And yet, in the midst of it all, something wonderful happened. And it happened not only that year, but also the year after that, the year after that, and the year after that. I learned my most valuable lesson: the power of a teacher. Every year I was matched with a new hero who gave me just the right amount of love and nurturing that I needed. They looked after me and even let me hold their hands. I remember the joy in that sensation like it was yesterday.

One day, I remember asking my first grade teacher if I could brush her beautiful long hair instead of playing outside for recess. She said yes because she knew my unique situation, and what I really needed at that time. She knew what many of us know: love and acceptance are two of our most basic needs, and she gifted me with just that. It was a connection I was craving, and she sacrificed for me. It wasn’t just her but all the teachers that followed. My teachers gave me the love and acceptance that I needed to grow into a healthy, strong woman.

That was their gift. While I may not have had a mom to go home to after school, all of my elementary school teachers made me feel like I had a mom between the hours of 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day. It wasn’t everyone’s normal, but it was my normal, and I learned to love it. I was going to be okay after all! That is the power of teachers. And that is what inspired me to become one myself so I could pass along the nurturing my teachers gave me.

So, there you have it. That is why I teach—not exactly a one-sentence answer! And while I can only imagine that many of my teachers did not intend to play mother and nurture a young kid searching to fill a void, they generously did it. Not necessarily because they set out to do so, but because opportunity called and they stepped up. That is the beauty of teaching.

As teachers, we have the opportunity to be so much to so many.

Now that I have shared my bookend of why I decided to become a teacher, I want you to take some time to reflect on your own. Why did you choose teaching? What is your story? When things get hard, you’ll want a reminder of why you decided to become a teacher in the first place. Because on the toughest of days, underneath all of the stress, your reason, motivation, and inspiration will still be there. No one can take that away. You are important, and the path that led you to join this beautiful profession of heroes is worthy of expression.

Close your eyes and think back to the beginning. Think back to before the stained shirts, the boxed lunches, and the busy hallways. Then answer the important question: Why did you choose to teach? Write your answer below.

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I hope you found value in this exercise. Hold on tight to your why.

While it is of utmost importance to recall our beginnings, we also need to envision our ending and set intentions for the impact we hope to have. Everything in between is the beautiful journey called teaching. With the bookend of why you began in the first place, let’s look at the other piece: your legacy.

The Second Bookend: Your Legacy

Begin with the end in mind.

—Steven Covey

Would you find it inspiring, intimidating, or unbelievable if I told you that the potential you possess as a teacher with passion and heart is the most powerful force for change on the planet today? As teachers, we are gifted with an enormous responsibility, one that is extremely important and vital to the development of future generations: We are given the task of shaping lives. By remembering to do the work while keeping the end in mind, we can know that the value of what we do is more than making it to the end of the day or the end of the year.

If you teach elementary school, you will see an average of 25 or more new students each year. If you are in secondary education, you will likely meet hundreds. Consider what that amounts to over the average career of a teacher. Think about all of these students gathered in one place on your last day of teaching. On that da...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Mindset Management – Truth #1: We Begin with a Vision
• Classroom Management – Truth #2: If You Don’t Have a Plan Before the Students Arrive, They Will Eat You Alive
• Workload Management – Truth #3: You Can Trade Your Bag of Bricks for a Bag of Tips
• People Management – Truth #4: All Relationships Matter
• Stress Management – Truth #5: There Will Be Days When You Feel Like It’s Too Much
• Self-Management – Truth #6: Self-Care Is Not Selfish
• Big Picture Management – Truth #7: You Will Have Life-Changing Moments That Make It All Worth It
• Love the Journey; Stay Encouraged
• About the Author