I am a senior this year and since I have been a student for so long taking order and advice from my teachers and professors I have only imagined what I want my future classroom to be like. But I haven't yet imagined the greater school. I want to keep all of the ideas and philosophies of teaching that I have learned as a student to my future classroom but I do not want to overstep the school I am hired into. How do I weave in my own personal flair as an educator without stepping outside the expectations and/or limitations of the school curriculum?
-Olivia Grenier (Ball State University)
Olivia, I’m going to let you in on a little known secret. Many of your concerns are a matter of perception. No, not the platitudes you may be thinking off—this is not a glass half full or half empty situation—but the truth is that while you may perceive yourself as just a senior imagining your future classroom, you are a Highly Qualified educator full of ideas and philosophies, about to inspire many of your future peers who have spent years, decades, and quarter centuries(!) doing, largely, the same thing because “that’s how I/we’ve always done it.” But then here you are, you’ve spent the last few years in a think tank of future professionals; you’ve lived and learned so many things in such a short period of time that it’s easy to overlook how far you’ve come and the relationships you’ve established already, so be confident.
When picturing the school as a whole, one of the best pieces of advice I can give you is to be yourself and focus on what is in your control. Don’t worry about the rest. In the interview process, be yourself. Give your future admins some credit. If you are honest during the hiring process, with the edges sanded off a bit for good measure, you will land on your feet where you’re meant to be, and that will save you a world of trouble navigating the school as a whole and finding your place within it. However, it’s important to be open to the philosophies and ideas you may not have considered.
I remember attending my first job fair. A sea of prospective employees and employers, recent- and soon-to-be college grads. Those interviews are where you can step on toes without having to worry about not being able to pay back your student loans, and you know what else? They’ll thank you for it. Instead of keeping your philosophies close to the chest and tiptoeing around eggshells, I say stomp around and make sure there aren’t too many for you! Far too often, we forget that interviewing is a two-way street. Always ask questions about the philosophies you hold dearest. Slap it on your resume so they don’t mistakenly hire the wrong person, drop some pedagogy bombs in there and ask how they can support your beliefs. I remember watching folks at that first job fair go booth to booth, practically in order. “Please may I have a job? Thanks for your consideration. Please may I have a job? Thanks for your consideration.” Yikes. It’s much easier to find a school with an umbrella of support that your beliefs align within, rather than rolling the dice or convincing yourself sacrificing your pedagogical beliefs is worth it.
Now I don’t like to be rude, but I’ve also been told that I can be very good at it sometimes, fortunately for me, as an adult it’s often called “pragmatism”. While you may be more graceful than I ever was, you <I>are<I> going to step on some toes. Sometimes you’ll feel remorseful and apologetic, and you’ll grow from it, and other times you’ll wonder why the heck they keep sticking their toes under your foot when they know where it’s going to land, (which is ultimately why I suggest being honest in the interview process) but sometimes the loudest complaints can be the strongest compliments. Many of the things I’ve been criticized for in my classroom—text-based video games, inclusive signage, comic books, alternative assignments or ways to demonstrate, etc—were the very same things that more open-minded and inclusive administrators and third parties celebrated and awarded me for. If you don’t find your tribe year one, you will eventually, I promise.
Your job will typically require two things, 1) to educate children, and 2) to keep them from harm when in your care. Everyone above you will have rubrics and expectations, and every student alongside you will have needs, wishes, and interests outside of those rubrics. So, you get to decide. What are you here for? Are you here for the students or are you here to placate everyone, and their rubrics, above you? Now the truth is, if just want to look good on paper to those above you, it is absolutely possible to look good at your job while making yourself and everyone around you miserable, but it’s a lot of hard work. I’ll admit, I’ve worked alongside some of those folks and you can spot them a mile away. However, I’ve also met countless teachers who showed up for their students, incorporated their needs, wishes, and interests while teaching in creative ways inspite of the limitations of canned curriculum or wacky pacing guides, and if you focus on the students as small adults-in-the-making to the best of your abilities, while holding true to your philosophies, it’s almost impossible not to be successful.
One of the coolest things about the field of education is how much your personal flair lends itself to the profession and can also make the most difficult of days worth it. State standards, statements of inquiry, professional expectations, and curriculum requirements may be the predetermined canvas, but you—and your students—get to decide what the painting looks like in the end, so don’t be afraid to share the brush and color outside the lines.
Trey Strother
Middle School ELA Teacher
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