Top 10 Introduction

 

Top 10 Introduction


Top 10 is one of my ideas for posing questions for those who love this most beautiful vocation... But have a lot of feelings about it as well! So this will be my first Top 10 and it will be Top 10 reasons why I love teaching. 

1. The days are never the same. It is an interesting world. I have zero flexibility in my time. Both my physical presence and physical coffee need to be in a room at 8:00 every morning. Predictable. What is not predictable... pretty much everything else. This is good and bad I will say. Depending on your school, there may be more negative unpredictability than positive unpredictability. I transitioned from the former to the latter in my education experience. We can dive into that later though!

2. Nerd Alert! I LOVE science! I know 🤓 - but don't quit reading yet! At the end of the day, it is literally my job to learn about new science stuff. I get to google random science things all the time. During our Science Current Event presentations I learn about things I would, quite literally, NEVER look up on my own... I get to listen to podcasts galore...and then share them! It is like sharing my favorite thing with a bunch of teenagers forced to listen. Now I am no fool, usually, I know they think I am ridiculous. But you have to know you are not going to impact every kid, and certainly not impact every kid in the same way. So, all of my "nerding out" may only excite one kid. But if you have ever taught a teenager, met a teenager, saw a teenager, was a teenager, you can appreciate how challenging they can be to "excite". And to me that is one kid more who now finds science exciting. What a win. 

3. Colleagues - why... well for about a million reasons. Let me share just a range of the conversations that happen in our office to justify my affection for my colleagues. 

A deep dive into how many muscles are present in an elephant's trunk.... you know you want to know now. The human body has around 600. The elephant's trunk, around 40,000. You are welcome.

How the body reacts to running 100 miles. Yes, I had a colleague who did that. No, I still cannot appropriately comprehend, as I get bored driving 100 miles, or for that matter thinking of 100 miles. If you are wondering how long it takes... the answer is somewhere around 24 hours. Yes, you read that correctly.

The evolutionary justification for... well... just about anything... butts, frozen turtles, fungus, cicadas, the philtrum...

Truth - like, actually, what is truth? How to define it, how to find it, if you can find it. Is truth subjective, objective, impossible to ascertain? 

The topics are unpredictable, hilarious, and challenging. What a blessing.

4. Summers. The end. 

5. Real conversations - Adults tend to be guarded and not nearly as willing to be vulnerable... (not speaking from personal experience or anything 😬🤷‍♀️)  With a "little" work to create a safe and comfortable environment, young people will engage in every conversation. They will show vulnerability, ask questions, and contemplate. My students help me grow every year in my ability to have these hard, vulnerable conversations. I can truly say I am a better person because of them helping me grow into a better person. 

6. TedEd's. This probably should go under the nerd category. However, they are too special. TedEd's bring me immense joy, and it is a youtube hole both my students and I find fun. I have been trying for over five years to advocate that one of my students becomes a TedEd creator. That will be the pinnacle accomplishment for me. 

7. Rituals - School years have a flow. High School has a flow. The rituals, traditions, and celebrations are one of my favorite things. You may not agree - totally fine. I get it, a bit cheesy. But there is a real joy to senior nights, final performances, graduations, retreats, and bittersweet goodbyes. Rituals to me are like emotional closure. I invest so much of myself into my vocation that it would be easy to be just plain sad when kids leave. But the rituals, the traditions, the joy they bring, show how ready they are for their next chapter.

8. Holiday's and Breaks - Sometimes I do not reflect on this as much as I should. Though my work days are not at all flexible, the reward is the certainty of celebrating Holiday's with family and friends.

9. Kids. Because they are kind of like puppies. Moody, uncertain, hormonal, and very… very bouncy. But also open, curious, and excited to see how many water drops fit on a penny. Now here is where I must divulge a secret, and give personal gratitudes to the elementary teachers, and middle school teachers. I tried a bit of that once. You all are saints. That is a level of random, chaos, and emotion I do not think I could ever handle. 

Kids have the ability to remind me everyday what matters and what doesn't. I do not always have the best barometer - so this "kid calibration" is a gift.

10. Love - cheesy I know. After all I am a teacher, cheesiness comes with the terrain. When I think about my past years I remember feelings. Very infrequently can I remember ridiculous things I did or said. But I remember names, faces, and the overall love of the classroom community. 

So, comment - what are your top 10 favorite things about teaching, coaching, or doing whatever you do!

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I know you are on the edge of your seat... if you haven’t yet googled it. The philtrum --> The little indent on your upper lip under your nose. 

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