TRANSCRIPT

Hey guys, it’s Rae! We’re talking today about career focused teaching. Now, when we were looking at this topic, we really were trying to hit those educators that are new into the field, but finding finally that they have their feet on the ground in the classroom.

This is usually not a teacher in their first or second year, but as you get in your third, fourth, and fifth year teaching, you finally feel like your feet on the ground, don’t stop learning. I work with so many teachers that emailed me and they’re like well I feel like I’m doing pretty good in the classroom, well no kidding, I’m sure you are, and I’m sure you’re making a huge impact in your students lives every Single day. No one is saying that you’re not doing that.

However, sometimes when we do something over and over, we’re not open to other ideas, and ways to do those same tasks. So as we talked through this quick little video, I really want you to consider what you can do to continue to grow in your field, continue to be better in your field even though you’re probably already good at it. One thing I would always encourage you to utilize are blogs you can find educators education blogs all over the place and I can tell you that The Grid Method has great blogs.

Here’s what I like about the great method blogs, they’re relatively short as educators, I spend, or as a teacher, I spend hours around my day thinking. And when I come home it’s a pretty hard sell to tell me that I’ve been thinking even more because usually my day starts pretty early and ends pretty late, and then as I’m sitting in my bedroom with my two puppies, I don’t really want to read lengthy article, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t further my knowledge base, The Grid Method has short articles. I really like them, I feel like I can get value out of them, and then it allows me to reflect, and decide if I want to learn more about that topic.

I also want to encourage you to reach out to your colleagues. I am truly fortunate enough to work in a building where teachers work hard and there are so many things,I can learn personally from my colleagues that I’m working with right now. I know that that’s not normal, I know that there are schools, that unfortunately have teachers that, as you look around, you don’t think you can learn from them. Here’s my challenge to you, you can always learn from someone even if it allows you to reflect, and know that you are doing right by your kids.

So, open your eyes, as you walk through the hallways, open your eyes as your converse with colleagues, and really try and take something away from those conversations. Whether you’re lucky enough to be able to observe a classroom, and steal a classroom management strategy, or just a little snippet on how to do something more effectively, or if you’re able to walk by and say, uh you know, I can reflect on that and know that I’m doing it in a way that’s really meeting the needs of my kids, that is furthering your career. That is ensuring that you’re staying current, and really meeting those needs.

The last thing I would encourage you to do, don’t get mad, but I would encourage you to get on social media. I know, I’m young, I love social media, it’s not true. I think social media is challenging sometimes, and I think that’s not typical, I think people assume that if you’re young, you love social media, and sometimes social media is a little overwhelming, but here’s what I want to encourage you to do. I love Twitter chats. I love connecting with teachers on Facebook. I love scrolling through and seeing what innovative things teachers are doing on Instagram. Find one place and commit to one thing to further your knowledge base. When I participate in Twitter chats, I am constantly reflecting on small questions all focused on one central theme, that I can assure that I start my day stronger and as a stronger educator the following day.

So find a way for you to do that, find a way to really give yourself an opportunity to reflect and give yourself an opportunity to get new resources. We do too much as teachers, sometimes we need to be handed something. Go find someone who’s willing to share something that can benefit your career and education

Because we have an incredible job, so don’t get complacent. Don’t sit back and watch it happen. Go find new ways to make it dynamic and innovative for those kids that we care so much about.