Welcome to one of the best professions in the world. Where we have the privilege and the honor of guiding and caring for youth and partnering with their families because we love our communities and care for our students. We witness daily wonders & woes, feed hunger & creativity, build trusting relationships & hold space for broken hearts, all while striving to help students achieve rigorous academic standards. And that was all before we lived through a year ½ long global pandemic.
Now, we are days away from welcoming students back to in-person learning, to ensuring safe classrooms and teaching/following safe protocols. So I’ll share with you the greatest lesson I learned from my first years of teaching that remains a steadfast value in my life today, one that will most definitely be needed in every hallway, every lunch room, every school. Educators are each others’ greatest asset – we can cry to each other, laugh with each other, encourage each other, challenge each other, and hold each other – all with deep understanding, compassion, and perseverance. It is a unique job, with unique challenges and successes. We have each other’s backs and hearts when the wifi goes out, when a kiddo needs a buddy room, when no one at home is going to believe what was said during class, when a lesson flops, and when chocolate is the only cure. Build genuine, trusting, collaborative relationships with colleagues, because it is they (and you) who will help each other see that silver lining, find the funny, and hold space for all the ups and downs that come with being an educator.
