Learning is an integral part of being a teacher. As my dear ole ma has said, “you can’t teach what you don’t know”, and as I am learning, I can’t KNOW what I don’t learn…yeah I doubt anyone will quote me on that profound statement either. But it’s true, no matter what your curriculum, your standards, the frameworks, you must first know what you are talking about. Common sense right? Yeah, maybe. Although I’m certain there are loads of teachers who ‘fake it till they make it’, just getting through to just get by. I know I’ve pulled lessons from way out in right field not sure of any clear end in sight, and largely learned from unpreparedness how important it is to KNOW your subjects.
Teaching lesson 101- BE PREPARED! And not just for your own self, but for your precious STUDENTS! We have an ability to create INFLUENCE, to sharpen minds, even if it’s just one!
It was Einstein who said
“If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself.”
So if you ever think that teaching younger minds is a limitation on your own abilities…Well, think again. It takes a lot of skill to get to THEIR level. They may be little but they are capable of extraordinary things, and have an amazing capacity to not only store information but to respond, and apply such knowledge.
Teaching is humbling, if you are humble enough to recognize your own limitations.
Our jobs as teachers are more than just to teach, we must be avid learners so we can REACH them, then EXPLAIN and EXPOUND and make learning exciting for the next generation of potential leaders, artists, musicians, writers, architects, etc.
I’m so excited about my new job as art teacher because for one, it’s never BORING!
Signing off,
to go observe that blood moon!
🙂
SHELSCAPES 