Day 15 of my 30-Day Blogging Challenge for teachers from teachthought.com

Here is the link to the site with the 30-day challenge. 

http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/reflective-teaching-30-day-blogging-challenge-teachers/

Day 15: Name three strengths you have as an educator.

These are always the questions that you hate to answer. First of all, I don't think that most educators like to talk about themselves (which this 30 day challenge forces you to do); and second, it is hard to give a unique answer without sounding like you are trying too hard. 

So..in the words of the Joker......HERE WE GO!!







I would have to say that one of my biggest strengths is my ability to get kids to WANT TO WORK for me. I think there is a big difference between getting kids to work for you and getting kids to WANT TO WORK for you. Maybe it is the football coach in me, but I think that getting kids TO BELIEVE they can accomplish something is just as important as the result. Plus, instilling a little "want to" into students can help the overall classroom environment, give them ownership over their work and motivate them to take on tasks they the might have otherwise passed on due to difficulty.

I understand as much as anyone that motivation can only take you so far in the classroom.  With that, my preparedness and my work ethic would have to be my next two strengths. Maybe I am cheating the question by combining those two, but I really think that my ability to prepare for each and every lesson, show the students what we are doing and why we are doing it, helps give a purpose to each day.

I try to avoid, as much as anyone can, the question from kids, "why are we doing this?" Ensuring I have a purpose and a focus for each lesson AND communicate that to kids really makes a difference when building an overall positive classroom environment.