ESSENTIAL QUESTION: What role does professional satisfaction play in the effectiveness of a classroom?I think professional satisfaction is the biggest key to being effective. A new survey from the Center on Education Policy (CEP) showed that "Nearly half of teachers would quit now for a higher-paying job" (OBrien, 2016). Now the way the question was worded may not be completely accurate it is still startling. "For most unhappy educators, some combination of inane policies, misbehaving or unmotivated students, and unsupportive administrators, colleagues, or parents is at the core of dissatisfaction" (Mendler, 2016). There will always be things that will upset us or discourage us, but Burgess (2012) makes a good point about finding "our own personal 'drum' and then playing it the best we can." There is so much that we cannot control so we need to try not to worry about the stuff we cannot control. "Play with all the passion, enthusiasm, and heart you can muster. Nothing else really matters. You can offer no finer gift or higher honor to the world than to find out what your 'drum' is and then play it for all it’s worth." Sometimes this can be hard. This year for me has been very trying. Some of the things you can't control really affect you and it is hard to get past some of these things. Up until this year I have been very happy with where I was at, but this year things are different. Everyone before me who left teaching in a village has told me there was a feeling that you got when it was time to move on and I believe this is what I am feeling. I feel like my emotions are controlling me more than my mind. I believe this is professional satisfaction in a nutshell. When you are happy you know you are in the right place, and if this isn't the case you will know it. Burgess (2012) really sums this up perfectly with a law that I actually taught to my physical science class this year. "The Law of Inertia states that an object at rest will stay at rest unless a force acts on it and that an object in motion will stay in motion unless a force acts on it. To overcome inertia and start moving forward, we must exert great force. Once we are in motion we are more likely to stay in motion. This is especially true if we build up speed and momentum. If you have to stop a car from rolling down the street, would you rather it be rolling at two miles per hour or sixty miles per hour? If it’s rolling sixty miles per hour it will roll right over the top of you and keep going. We want to be rolling sixty miles per hour towards our goals so that obstacles in our path get steamrolled and are distant memories in the rearview mirror. The reason many people get held up by problems and obstacles is that they haven’t built up enough momentum. Take your foot off of the brake and step on the gas!" Sources
Burgess, D. (2012). Teach Like a Pirate: Increase Student Engagement, Boost your Creativity, and Transform your Life as an Educator [Kindle]. Mendler, A. (2016, May 13). Rediscovering Your Fulfillment as a Teacher. Retrieved January 26, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/rediscovering-your-fulfillment-as-teacher-allen-mendler OBrien, A. (2016, June 09). 3-Step Method to Increase Teacher Voice. Retrieved January 26, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/increasing-teacher-voice-decision-making-anne-obrien
8 Comments
Natalie Morgen
1/27/2017 02:31:58 pm
Hi Sara,
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Sara Lucas
1/29/2017 10:52:29 pm
You are so right. It is all about the perspective we take. Do we view the glass as half full or half empty? It we take the half full perspective we are more likely to be happy because positive thoughts are on our mind and we aren't consumed by everything in the field that is going wrong.
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Tristan
1/27/2017 05:13:27 pm
What you described how you are feeling is exactly how I felt last year. I wasn’t teaching in a village, but I taught at a very small school that I graduated from and most of my former teachers were still there. I knew it was time to move on and I did. It was a good decision, got me out of my comfort job and made me realize that I could teach at a school with people I didn’t know that was ten times as big. I, agree, I think we know when we aren’t in the right place and when it’s time to leave. I like how you used the law of inertia in your post. For me, it’s so easy not to push full force through my problems that I face. I tend to go half paced and begrudgingly, usually making no progress, so I like the phrase of take your foot of the brake and step on the gas! I really need to remember that the next couple months of school.
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Sara Lucas
1/29/2017 10:55:29 pm
Thanks Tristan for the kind post. I appreciate you sharing your change recent move. It is encouraging to hear. I have been in the same place for 5 years so it makes me a little anxious to move, but I keep trying to remind myself that it is the best choice for both me and my students.
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Jim Schewe
1/28/2017 03:35:00 pm
Sara - "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" Can you hear The Class playing? I completely understand that "gut feeling." Something in the back of your mind tells you it's time to move in. I think you're right when you're having trouble finding your happiness it's time to evaluate. I too am trying to discern whether or not it's time to move on. And it has nothing to do with my students.
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Sara Lucas
1/29/2017 10:57:29 pm
Yes!!! The students are the reason it is not an easy decision. But then when I consider them I think that is all the more reason to leave. They need a new perspective and I feel like I am just getting more easily frustrated with them. But my frustration is mostly not from them.
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1/28/2017 08:49:11 pm
Having taught in a village, I can relate to the feelings you can have about that world. I grew up in that area, and I always felt that I “belonged” in some sense, and felt some obligation to teaching in an area I grew up in. I ended up staying for nine years before I moved on. It was time, and I don’t regret leaving. I am very happy where I currently live and teach and it makes such a difference! You would think that “going home” would be great for me, but to be honest, after spending most of my childhood and graduating high school there, I remember that the last thing I wanted to do was live there again! So I went to college in the furthest place that would accept me, Utah. My parents moved away as well when I when to college, so when I went “home”, I didn’t go to the home I grew up in. It is very important to have satisfaction in the job, and as much as I may gripe and complain in my postings and comments to others, I am very happy here. It’s been 14 years and going strong. Having colleagues that you get along with and can joke around and have fun is priceless. I have enough passion and energy for another 14! (I hope) Do what your heart tells you and accept your decisions. One of my favorite phrases that Dr. Marty Laster (UAS) has taught me years ago was “You have to let go, and move on!” So many meanings in this one phrase that you can apply to. It has saved me on many occasions.
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Sara Lucas
1/29/2017 11:01:13 pm
Thanks for sharing your experience in moving to a new place. It is very helpful to hear how others have been re-energized by moving to a new place. I have been feeling guilty for wanting to leave and it has everything to do with the students. I have watched them grow so much. But I know for me and for them I need to be re-energized and that isn't going to happen where I am now.
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