"When we learn how to teach, we must also consider what it will feel like to teach."
Chapter 3
Vulnerable and honest, chapter 3 gives readers an inside look at the author’s first day of teaching, in which she was brought into the cold reality of not being in control, or even in charge. This chapter takes readers on a specific journey through an inexperienced teacher’s error and how things would have been different—so different—if that same situation happened today, after years of learning and acquiring understanding and intrapersonal awareness. Additionally, in this chapter, the author shares poignant tips to teachers on how to handle tough circumstances while maintaining peace of mind and emotional resiliency.
Questions:
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Can you be brave enough to share a time when you mishandled a situation with a student, colleague, or administrator? What were the circumstances that caused you to make the choices you made?
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After reflecting on this situation, what would you do differently today, and how do you think the situation would have been improved? Can you share this with someone else?
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Sometimes, our students are not the people we were in school. What does this mean to you and how does this affect your teaching?
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As teachers, we can find ourselves in the “control-trap.” How do teachers land in this control-trap and what can they do to prevent this from happening or to get themselves out of it?
Resources:
Best practices for managing disruptive behavior »
How to Handle Bad Student Behavior »
Quotes:
“I thought I was ‘in charge’ and ‘in control,’ and I thought students listening to me equaled respect.”
“I was allowing my self-confidence to be determined by circumstances outside my control.”
“Teaching, like all important things in our lives, takes practice, patience, and reflection to improve.”
“We must be both physically and emotionally prepared for teaching, or else we will fall into unhealthy patterns that can steal our time, energy, and peace of mind.”
