How To Succeed In Teaching – Part 3 of 3

To those of you in Australia, I hope you have all had a fabulous holiday break! I certainly have! My second baby is due in 2 weeks so I have been madly organizing everything. Will keep you posted on its arrival 🙂

Well here we are – at the 3rd and final week of ‘How To Succeed In Teaching’. If you missed Week 1 you can check it out here and if you missed last week’s post you can read it here.

Thank you so much for all your feedback – I love hearing your stories of your successes in teaching. Keep them coming!

Let’s dive in to the final 4 thoughts on what I think contributes to your success in teaching.

1. Take care of yourself physically and mentally

Remember to look after yourself and be aware of your physical and mental condition. If possible, have someone you can talk to about your teaching experiences. Let a mentor encourage and support you as you learn and grow as a teacher. Be accountable to someone for your physical health and fitness. The better your physical shape, the more energy you will have, and the more effective you will be each day.

Health is certainly more valuable than money, because it is by health that money is procured.
Samuel Johnson

2. Be yourself

As a teacher, you are sometimes tempted to compare yourself with other teachers and to try to become exactly like them. Be willing to learn from other teachers, but you must remain true to yourself. The most effective teachers are those who learn from others and then adopt their learning into who they are as a person and therefore into who they are as a teacher. Authenticity is attractive and teachers who are true-to-self and know who they are are the most attractive teachers I know.

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of someone else.
Judy Garland

3. Be committed to continually learning and growing as a teacher

Every day as an opportunity to learn and grow as a teacher. Dale Carnegie said, ‘Every person is my superior in some way.’ Adopt this attitude everywhere you teach. Every classroom, every teacher, every student, every teaching situation can add to your skills and experience. Excellent teachers are learning all the time.

4. Understand that you can make a difference in just one day

You can have an incredible impact on your students in just one day of teaching. You will get from every day what you put into it. Your goal is not to ‘survive’. Your goal is to add value to the life of every student you teach. Remember that you can also have a positive impact on other staff members. Finish the day feeling like you have done your best, learned something new, and contributed to the life and learning of another person.

The important thing is not to get through the day. The important thing is to get from the day.
Jim Rohn

Enjoy the journey,

And more importantly,

Enjoy the moments.

🙂

Megan