Dr. Amy Fast tweeted this on January 21, 2018. I loved it so much that I went back on her twitter feed just to search for this quote and after what felt like going through a thousand tweets, I found it. Yup, I know. I'm crazy.
But I have to tell you. This question has been and probably will be permanently stuck in my mind.
A couple of months ago, our Instructional Supervisors led a faculty meeting that asked us the same question. I was intrigued. Besides my first initial hiring interview 13 years ago, I can promise you that no one has ever asked that of me since.
But if you are like me-- borderline obsessed with Twitter-- you would have absolutely seen similar quotes that not only demands you know your "why?" but also urges you to inspire the heck out of your students to know theirs.
Let's go back to the question then. "What's your why?... Why are we here?"
As I sat in the auditorium after school, drained, and exhausted, we were asked those two questions. I remember rummaging through my brain for what I thought was the correct answer to my Supervisors' questions. My only response at the moment, "Oh, God, please don't call on me." Lame, right?
Such a simple question really.
Yesterday, I picked up Empower: What Happens When Students Own Their Learning by John Spencer and A.J. Juliani. In their initial chapters, they remind us that throughout a student's 12-13 years of school, they would have received 14 THOUSAND hours of instruction. That's 840,000 minutes no matter how you slice it.
It's quite shocking really. I am in my 13th year of teaching. This message clearly hit home for me. I have taught as long as an entire course of one child's educational tenure.
I have spent 14 thousand hours educating children. But oh, what a privilege it has been. After all of these years, I am even more passionate about my profession.
"Choose a profession that you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." I love being a teacher and it is my hope we continue to elevate it as a noble vocation.
My "why?" has somewhat changed during these past thirteen years but I always come back to this.
My "why?" is to empower all my students to find what they are passionate about and to not only stop there, but to make sure they feed it, nurture it, and then share it with the world.
My message to my younger self is this:
"Empowering students means giving kids the knowledge and skills to pursue their passions, interests, and future." - Bill Ferriter via Empower.
I'm a firm believer in this. If we are cognizant that a student spends 400 minutes per day in our schools, how are we empowering them to take ownership of what they find interesting?
I am sure my "why" is different from yours. But, this is the most important lesson that I learned:
We all know "the what" of our profession, but know your "why" so that your "what" has more impact because you are working towards a purpose.
My younger self would respond: "Thank you. Be kind to yourself. Continue to dedicate yourself to the kids you teach. There is plenty of work to be done."
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| -Simon Sinek |
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Dr. Amy Fast (@fastcrayon) is a must follow on Twitter. She's inspiring and I love her message. Her book is called It's the Mission, Not the Mandates: Defining the Purpose of Public Education.
Empower: What Happens When Students Own Their Learning by John Spencer and A.J. Juliani is a must read. Such a fun and inspiring book. Truly a "pick me up" kind of book. Highly recommend.
