What does it mean to be a Teacher?

I came across this quote last week:

Teaching is...
“inspiring students to discover on their own, to challenge if they don’t agree, to look for alternatives if they think there are better ones, to work through the great achievements of the past and try to master them on their own because they’re interested in them” (sorry cannot remember who said it).

I also received a personal message from a previous student's mother. In a nut shell she told me her son said that he missed me as a teacher. He said that he remembered my crazy antics and that he missed the learning and fun we had. She further stated that it made her realize the impact of a great teacher on a student.

These two statements got me thinking about teaching in general. More specifically, why I got into teaching and what teaching means.

It is very easy to forget how we can impact, for better or worse, a student in our class. We see them for the year but then off they go.  If we are lucky we see them in the halls or they talk to you as you go by but off they go into the yellow sunset to live their lives.   Every now and then we hear stories, read success stories or get a quick email that makes us think of the times we had in the classroom.

These moments in time make me think about why I became an educator. For me it wasn't a story of I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher from childhood. In fact I wanted to be a musician but my Dad told me that that was no way to live. I went to school to be an accountant but soon realized that I was doing this for all the wrong reasons. I volunteered at a local school and fell in love with teaching.

It was the light bulbs that did it for me. To see the mind work, explore, invent and be creative was truly inspiring. Not only that but to think that I had a small hand in that is really surreal.

Seeing this light bulb is one of the most important part of teaching for me. But how do we create that light bulb?
What got you into teaching?
What is teaching mean to you?

I would love to hear your thoughts.

What Have You Done to Improve Our Profession?

I am sitting here at the TLLP sharing session in Mississauga listening to Joanne Myers. Truly an amazing speaker. She asked an important question:  What have you done today to advocate for our profession?  She then told us that the best advocacy is with our parents.

This has hit home. I have mentioned this before but my daughter started school this year and it has changed my thinking as a professional.  I never thought it would but thinking like a parent has made me reflect as a practitioner.  You can see my thoughts at this blog post. So when I heard this question I had to think back to everything that has been happening in the classroom this year.

From listening to the personal stories that Joanne has been saying these small moments we can have do impact our students lives. Just to share one:

She mentioned a little boy who stood up for the a small creature in the classroom. She then went home and late at night called his dad. She found out that night his Dad woke him up and they had ice cream.  A year or so later (I think) she found out this particular students Dad had passed away. She still meets with this student and he told her the best memory of his Dad was eating ice cream that night.

Its amazing to think how that small moment had impacted the students life.  Its connections and stories like that that allows speaks for our professions.

I am not too sure if I have a story that motivating but the one that comes to mind is a story that has happened a couple of years ago. I was taking students to an outside workshop and all of a sudden I heard my name being called, "Yo Mr So!" I turned around to be greeted by three tall grade eight students. They looked at me and said you don't remember me? I said no I do, you just weren't six foot tall 200lbs in grade four. We had a big laugh and connected on how they have been doing. Its great to see previous students and how they remembered us even after all of these years.

We have all had that fantastic teacher that has motivated us to go beyond our capabilities. This is why when Joanne said, "What have you done to improve our profession?" It hit home.

I then received this tweet from a colleague Monica Chadha:

@MrSoclassroom how can we create a mindset so other professionals also advocate for our profession not the profession that gets summer off?
— Monica Chadha (@mlchadha) November 8, 2014

This is another discussion to have. As educators we have the power to change perspectives. We are the best that this profession has to offer and need to showcase that.

Teaching is an amazing profession. It has many hardships and struggles but many joyous moments.  Like parenting, I have never regretted my decision to be a teacher.

I write this post not to have any words of wisdom but a thought to have a aha moment and share some stories. It would be amazing to collect these stories of success and share them. Like Joanne said we are the face of the profession and the best advocates of change.

My questions to you:

1) What do you do in the classroom to help advocate for our profession?

2) Do you have any stories of success? 

3) What can we do to promote our profession and make it better?

I can't wait to hear your thoughts.