So, we’re a few weeks into school now. Let me guess, you don’t think it’s going that well. You’re through your first mini-unit, the one you planned over the last month of summer, and you’re into your first round of lessons you planned the day before. Let me guess, it’s not super smooth yet.
Your kids aren’t listening, your kids aren’t learning. Your kids aren’t excited, your kids don’t like you.
You are working as hard as you feel like a person can work, and things get better for a day, and then worse for a day, and then there’s a day that’s just kindof ok. You feel like there’s something you aren’t doing that you should be doing, like there are things you do that you shouldn’t, and if you could figure them out, everything would get better. You don’t know what those things are.
So, let me guess, you think you’re a terrible teacher.
Really, you might be. I don’t know. I don’t know you and I’ve never watched you teach. You might just suck at this. You might want to figure out something else to do with your life. You felt like this was the only thing you were ever going to be really good at, and it turns out you suck. That has to hurt, but it’s probably best to accept it, move on, maybe think about culinary school. That seems nice too. Especially if you’re a terrible teacher.
I don’t think there are that many terrible teachers out there. I think most of those teachers think they’re doing everything right anyway, which is why they’re ultimately so bad. I think teaching is just really hard. In fact, I know that’s true, so let me do what I am constantly telling my students to do, and drop the “I think.” Teaching is just really hard.
It’s hard for everyone. It’s even hard for people who are doing it well. It’s especially hard for people who are doing it well. I’ve been teaching for longer than I’ve been doing any other thing in my life. I’m pretty cocky about it. I think I’m pretty damn good.
I’m through my first few weeks of my eighth year of teaching, and want to know how it feels? It feels like my kids aren’t listening, my kids aren’t learning, my kids aren’t excited, my kids don’t like me. It feels like I’m a terrible teacher.
Why don’t I act like it? I’m cocky. I’m stupid. I probably care less about a couple bad weeks now that I’ve taught a few hundred weeks than I would have when I’d only taught just those first couple.
I think I’m not… wait… I’m not a terrible teacher. It feels like it sometimes though. Because every year is a new year. Every student is a student I haven’t met before, even if I taught them last year. Every student is a mushy messed up human just like me, and we have to figure each other out for awhile. Every year starts with new-year franticness and sometimes my class just doesn’t rank compared to who’s cute now, who’s going out now, who’s fighting, who’s new, who’s bi, who got into what trouble over the summer. Also, no matter what I do, some students aren’t ever going to care a lot about high school, which is probably because high school is mainly just dumb stuff you have to do. Still, I have them nearly an hour a day, and my constant lack of getting them to care makes me feel like a failure an hour a day. Sometimes, students are just Seniors.
But I know I’m not a terrible teacher, even though I fail at teaching pretty often. I know I’m not a terrible teacher, because the test is easy, because I made the test up. Think you’re a terrible teacher? Find out.
So, You Think You’re a Terrible Teacher… The Test.
(Check all that apply. You can check more than one.)
___ I don’t care about teaching.
___ I don’t care about students.
___ I like making people feel bad, especially young people.
___ I’m thinking about going into Administration.
___ I care about teaching.
___ I care about students.
___ I mess up, then try to figure out why.
___ I try to be interesting.
___ I try not to let myself feel too important.
___ Sometimes, I wake up at three in the morning, and I can’t go to sleep, because I’m thinking about some dumb thing I said or some awful thing a student said, and I think about what I could do the next day to make it better in some way.
___ I may carry grudges, but I try not to act like it.
___ I know at least three decent jokes.
___ I will go see student performances, even if it’s choir, or a musical.
___ I do some harm, but I feel bad about it, and then try to fix it.
___ I try to keep things relevant, even when they aren’t.
___ I see school through student eyes sometimes.
So, are you a terrible teacher? Tally up your score and find out!
CATEGORY ONE: If you have checked any items in this category, you suck. Go do something else. Ok, fine, if you only checked the fourth, but not the other three, be an administrator. Whatever.
CATEGORY TWO: Did you check the first two? Great. You’re set. Three’s not bad either. The rest of the things will probably help, but are wildly biased towards my own brand of teaching.
Teaching is just really hard. Sometimes you’ll feel like you suck, and sometimes you legitimately will. Do you care? You’ll be fine. Do you care a lot? You’ll probably be great.
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