While we often tell people not to worry about what others think about them, I don’t think we ever stop caring about the impression we are leaving. As an educator, I am constantly thinking about the impression I am leaving on my students and how I can make a greater impact. I think about the things my students will remember about me and whether I am living up to the person they need me to be.
Who then do my students need me to be? While reflecting on that, I came back to what I remembered about my own teachers. I didn’t remember specific lessons, I didn’t remember the day-to-day operations of a school that educators spend so much time focusing on. While I am sure I learned from some well thought out lesson planning, those are not the things I think about when I remember my school experiences. I remember those teachers that did more and took our learning outside of the textbook and gave me unique experiences. I remember going to a campaign dinner for John McCain. I remember going to Detroit to see plays and visit Greektown. I remember all of the plays I was in throughout elementary and high school. I remember building toothpick bridges and the dry-humor jokes my teachers shared. I remember the Michigan fight song, the read aloud books my teachers read, volunteering at too many events to list specifically, and so many other things like this. When it comes down to it, I remember the things the teachers did to make learning more than just the content they needed to cover. It was the experiences they created that helped shape me into the individual I have become and made the teacher I strive to be. I am confident that the students I went to school with can name the specific teachers that match the things on the list I have provided.
So the question is, how can I create those same experiences that will shape my own students into the people they need to be to thrive in this society. I have to keep pushing myself to be more than just the English content teacher. And the more I do, the more I realize that I learn just as much from doing the extra volunteer projects, the extra clubs we create, the outside-the-box experiences I create. These are the things that make teaching the most rewarding profession in the world. So as we get ready to go back to school, I challenge you to ask yourself, how do you want to be remembered? How can you be the person that changes the direction of a student’s life for the better. How can you create the connections for students that will bring them the future they deserve?
I want to be remembered as the teacher that showed students their strengths, showed them how to capitalize on those strengths, provided opportunities for them to connect with individuals that gave them job opportunities, showed them what it means to help their community and take pride in it. I want them to think of me as a positive person that smiled and brought them up when they needed it. I want them to remember me as someone they could come to and knew I would help them and guide them in any way I could.
Instead of just focusing on academic and athletic goals (what most students automatically turn to in goal setting), I believe it's important to set character goals as well. But it's not just important for the students to set these goals...adults can benefit from this process just as much.
