Why are you here? Why are you reading this blog? I’m not a perfect teacher…I try… but I am far from perfect. You probably came here because you were looking for ideas perhaps on teaching a split grade or using Inquiry or for many other reasons.
Sometimes I hear it in my comments section, or through private messages; your thanks and appreciation you have for throwing my ideas out there. Giving you a place to turn when you are struggling. I am forever grateful for this blog and the ability to reach so many teachers.
But here’s the thing:
I’m not a perfect teacher.
I have faults, and things don’t always work out on paper. I started this blog as an outlet because there were not enough voices that represented me. Then I started on Tpt because people would ask for the activities I talk about on here. It helped to justify the hours I spent making my own things when the resources I was given lacked what I needed.
I have bad days. You know the days where another job looks really appealing.
I have days where I am so thankful there is a bottle of wine and a supportive hubby to hear me complain.
I want you to know I’m not perfect. And I struggle to get through the day.
So if you are too …know you are not alone.
Here are the five reasons why I’m less than perfect and why that’s okay.
I can’t spell
I am a horrible speller. Just ask anyone who edits my TPT products. I rush through it and second guess myself so many times.
I am so self-conscious about making mistakes in my classroom with spelling because I am afraid of judgment.
“Oh my gawd she is a teacher and she cannot spell that word”
Yep, I can’t, but you know what: I have gotten really good at compensating.
I use technology to help me, I depend on typed communication over handwritten, and I remake all of my anchor charts.
And with my students, if I make a mistake, I am honest with this imperfection and model for them how to look it up.
Another true confession I love capital letters too and put them everywhere don’t judge me.
I am forgetful
Sometimes I wish I was an elephant but sometimes I’m more like a goldfish.
I don’t always remember what day it is or that something is coming up. I will often forget to do my attendance.
It drives my hubby crazy.
I need to be better planned. It’s something I’m working on.
But until then I can just embrace the quotes “fake it until you make it” and “keep calm and pretend it’s on the lesson plan”
I set timers to remind me of things and write down things on a calendar when I remember to.
This may also be why I dislike papers. I can never remember where anything is. The most used feature on my computer is the search bar. I must live in the right era. Google is my friend, thank you to all the software engineers out there who have dedicated their life to making search find all the things effectively.
That reminds me I have a kids dentist appointment on Wednesday.
I don’t do details
If it were up to me my students probably would never leave the classroom to go on trips. The logistics of planning these types of details are just not my strength.
I am much better at ideas and planning activities than I am at filling out the forms and arranging the details.
In the classroom, this sometimes means that I make many mistakes in terms of how something might work out. There is often a lot of trial and error here and I figure out what is going to work or not. This leads to some great outcomes and some not so great ones.
I fail on a regular basis.
But it’s okay. I am very fortunate that I work with an amazing group of teachers who just happen to be great at this. I found my people and we work together and focus on our strengths.
This way my students can go on trips and do some things I have the ideas for but perhaps not the follow-through.
But I need all the details
For this reason, I struggled with science and math as a high school student.
When learning new concepts I need to know everything about what I am learning. I don’t assume very well. Without the full and complete picture of how and why something works I struggle to accept the new concept.
Sometimes that means that with new strategies or concepts. I need to learn all about it before I try it. This can hinder me from just doing something new, I will often cast a lot of doubt.
This impacted me in math as a student. I never knew why the algorithms work or how to skip steps. It just wasn’t clear. I was lucky to have two amazing math teachers who recognized this and worked with me to get me through math.
As a teacher, this memory never left me and I use this to help me make sure that I recognize that some students need more.
So, I have had to learn to ask lots of questions and seek my own answers.
In the long run, once I learn a concept I KNOW it and will share it with others. But getting there is a struggle.
I am easily distracted
I am distracted and often get lost doing something that is not always the most efficient. When I fill out that PD organizer that’s given out, I end up remaking it with some fancy fonts and borders. I get distracted if all of the things I use don’t match! This means that I will redo things over and over, even when I don’t ‘have’ to.
In my classroom, we easily get sidetracked.
I may have a plan to get all the things done and follow my schedule but that doesn’t always happen. But I have to give myself a break and realize that I don’t always have to get to everything all the time.
Having a timer on my watch and seeing emails as they come in helps me to not get too distracted but it. I see the notification and the subject but not the email. This means I can ignore non-urgent emails and I don’t get stuck in the trap of my inbox.
Let’s be fair; We have so much to do in a day. We cannot get it all done all of the time.
I am distracted but is this always a bad thing?
Maybe being more flexible is okay
So I’m not perfect
But it’s okay the only one who perhaps expects that is me.
When I mess up chances are I am the only one who knows it
Or maybe not…but if I own it and ask for help when dealing with these imperfections, it gets easier. I can rely on the strengths of others and help them out.
Part of being a community means helping each other out.
I guess acceptance of my perfect imperfections is a great feeling. I own my faults they make me who I am and I can still be a good teacher despot of them.
What things do you do to compensate for areas where you are not perfect?
Tell me in the comments or add your ideas over on Facebook.
