Life = Risk

Some words of wisdom from this week's seminar. Taking to heart ;)

One of the most exciting parts of my job--or really of any teacher's job--is having the opportunity to watch you grow: to watch you grow as a cohort from awkwardly sitting quietly during discussion to developing friendships and comfort in sharing, laughing, and crying with each other; to watch you grow as students introduced to so much new content that you now brilliantly discuss and apply and criticize with increasing complexity; to watch you grow as teachers from your tentative first steps and uncertainty about managing actual classrooms to budding confidence and ease using your "cheerleader" voices.
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One thing I want you to keep in mind as this semester winds down is that at no point have any of you "failed" at anything. Of course it is natural to be hard on ourselves when we are a group full of over-achieving and highly successful individuals. But in reading your lesson reflections, I definitely cringe every time one of you describes something as "failing," because I don't want you to think of failure as having a negative connotation or as something to avoid. Sometimes in trying to avoid failure, we limit ourselves to that which we already know, can already do, or have confidence to excel in. As teachers and as people it is uncomfortable to become comfortable with the thought of failing; but the thought of "not trying" should scare you even more.

The only way we ultimately move forward is to learn from every experience we embark upon--taking from the lessons that go well and learning from those that are a little shaky. Practicum is almost like a self-directed experiment where you have the support and time to test out all of the fabulous ideas you dream up and read about, see what happens, and through careful reflection and guidance, develop greater understandings about: content, management, pedagogy, student needs, relationships, and yourself. 

So just to reiterate--take the risks and welcome the "failures" as learning experiences. It is so much more valuable than staying "inside the box." And it will be so much more rewarding for your students and yourself! A funny thing happens when you stop trying to be perfect--you actually feel more confident even when things go much worse--because you learn how to just be present in the moment, trust yourself, and feel gratitude for every "opportunity" that comes your way.