Prompt: Reflect on a teacher or the status of teachers
What thoughts come to mind when you think of World Teachers’ Day? Here are some ideas:
- Share a story of a teacher who made an impact on you.
- Tell us about your experience with higher education and the teaching staff you encountered.
- Why did you become a teacher?
- If you had total freedom and unlimited resources, how would you celebrate World Teachers’ Day at your workplace?
So much for blogging a few times a week to catch up! Life is funny like that. Regular blogging is important to me. The reflective practice of blogging is very therapeutic.
Today’s topic is so time sensitive it forced me to do my catch up posts out of order. It might even have caused me to do the remaining past posts in any order they appeal to me rather than their numerical order. What’s fun to remember is that I make the rules here on my blog, so catching up in numerical order or completely random order is up to me.
Today is World Teachers’ Day. I have to be honest and say that in my 17 years as an educator I don’t recall celebrating or acknowledging World Teachers’ Day. That’s not to say it doesn’t matter, it most certainly does, but now that I am out of the classroom I have a lot more time to reflect on my classroom days.
Teaching in Freedom, Empowering Teachers
I felt very empowered when I was in the classroom. While I had the framework of my district to work within, I always felt I had some room to make decisions about how my students were taught and how I wanted to approach teaching them. I felt free to read and learn about new approaches and strategies. I felt free to collaborate with my colleagues to make my students’ academic experiences as powerful as possible. It had been my hope as a teacher on assignment that I would be able to work with teachers in accomplishing the same goal…enriching the learning experiences of their students.
On this year’s World Teachers’ Day I ask all those who have been teachers and are now in a position outside of the classroom, whatever that may be, do you feel free and empowered in your new role? Do you feel disconnected from the teacher you once were or do you feel you are even more empowered in your new role? Share with me in the comments below. 🙂
21st Century Educator 
Hi Mélanie
Thank you for sharing your love of teaching. I’m not a teacher in the classroom since 2013, due to difficulties in mobility; I’m a Tutor now and responsible for a writing workshop, so I can sit most of the time. I love this new way of accompanying students, because I can do a “filigreed” kind of work, listening to just two or three students at a time, in a deeper relationship that contributes to bring more meaning and significance to our common life in school.
Ines
Hi Ines,
I’ve always thought it would be nice to work with a really small group of students. You must really develop strong relationships and be able to see a lot of progress.
Kathleen
Hi Melanie,
Happy World Teachers’ Day to you!
How wonderful that you have always felt so empowered. I feel like this is such a crucial aspect of our profession. I’ve mostly been lucky like this too – I have researched, implemented and experimented with lots of different things in the classroom without many obstacles. Sadly, it sounds like this freedom in our profession is lessening to some extent. I love that you aim to keep it going in your role!
I also agree that you should make up the own rules for your blog 🙂
Kathleen
My dear friend,
A very belated happy teacher’s day to you! Your passion for alternative and cutting edge educational techniques and technologies gives me hope for the future. All too often it seems that educators are fighting an uphill battle with the weight of the world on their shoulders. I’m proud to know you because you just keep finding new ways to keep at the fight. Thank you for all that you do every day!