Day 15: Strengths

Day 15: Name three strengths you have as an educator.

1. I am committed. I believe deeply in the ability of education to make a difference in a student's life, and I take the opportunity I am given to be that difference very seriously. This manifests itself in me working to connect with both easy and challenging students, being willing to be the adult in the room and give every kid a fresh start every single day, and searching for the right way to help a student grasp something that is difficult. My heart is in this work because I believe that I have a moral obligation to give the best I can every day.

2. I am calm. While I am passionate about beautiful language and standing up for what is right, I am able to remain calm in the chaos of the classroom. This is true both for days that are difficult when it comes to management and moments with individual students that I'm not sure how to handle. Yoga has changed me for the better here. I am comfortable with waiting, finding my breath, pausing until I know what to say or do.

3. I work backwards. I feel really fortunate that I had a great Methods professor in my undergraduate work that helped me understand aligning goals to assessments and beginning with the end in mind. I believe that my ability to consider a big-picture goal and identify the baby steps it will take to get there helps my course feel organized and flowing toward something.

Of course, there are improvements to be made, always. But I'm not going to deal with those today. I'm just going to note what I think I do well. We should all do this more often.