"We are in this career, not because we believe in testing scores or standards or the other things that make up meeting agendas and political conversations, but because we believe in the potential of humanity," said Angie Miller, a veteran educator and former Teacher of the Year.
Because of the demands of the profession, she said, she's never met a peer who has not struggled finding a balance between work and personal life. It's been a long journey, but she's developed a perspective that she says helps her and will help others avoid burnout as the school year begins again.
"[I]nstead of burning out because we are losing our very selves, we need to remember that teaching is our very selves," she said to The Washington Post.
Miller urges her fellow peers to remember the importance of being in education and why they got into the field in the first place- because the blood, sweat and tears of education is in their soul.
"If we remember that our work is the intimate intersection of our beliefs and our worlds, we may not feel like we’re losing ourselves to this profession, but rather that it is a way to find ourselves every day," she said.
So when new district-roll out initiatives and anxiety over improving gets you down as you enter the classroom once again, remember to hold on to what has brought you into the classroom in the first place.
We show up at school every morning because we believe in our students. We believe that there is goodness bubbling at every surface, and it is our hope that we can help our students grasp onto that goodness as they step out into the world. We believe in failure and vulnerability. We believe that even after terrible days filled with rejection, the rewards derived from hard work are possible. And when we are alive, our practice is alive.
Read Miller's full post here and comment with your thoughts below.
Article by Nicole Gorman, Education World Contributor
08/24/2015
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