Personality will get you a long way in this world. A contagious smile, charismatic demeanor, and smooth articulation are, I am convinced, the threshold to success. Skill and ability come second. If you convince people that you are someone they would very much like the company of, you're in. However, once you're in, should your skills be sub par, you had better be a quick learner. People can like you from a distance.
This is no different in education than in business or politics. The cold, hard truth about education is that, like marriage, nothing prepares you other than throwing caution to the wind and taking the leap. You just "gotta do it." Anyone who takes this approach to swimming will get a comparable glimpse of what a first year teacher experiences: near-death by drowning. Learn to swim with the dolphins or sleep with the fishies. I haven't learned the grace of the breast-stroke yet, but my dog-paddle is second-to-none. I just smile like Newt Gingrich and try to keep my head above water.
So, for all those future-beginning teachers out there, my advice is this: Swallow your fear and dive in deep. Learning to be an educator is like adapting to a new culture and language: total submersion is the fastest way to go from looking like a dumb tourist to becoming "one of them." Then again, shoot for something better than just becoming "one of them." Schools are full of teachers that have established a culture of cynical lethargy and a language of grumbling subtly disguised as righteous indignation for the plight of the educator. You would be better off creating your own Rosetta Stone and founding a new culture in education: one that challenges the old to return to vitality and creativity in the classroom.
Ahhh . . . the positivism and energy of the new guy. Hold on to your gusto. Everyday, we get better at this. Until you learn to swim like a Phelps, smile like a politician (act like you know what you're doing), and paddle like a Yorkie-Poo.
To be continued . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment