3 Questions For Every New Teacher (And One All Important Answer)

If you have spent any time watching TED Talks, you have probably come across Simon Sinek's talk about leadership.  His breakthrough, the "Golden Circle" can be explained like this: In any organization and in our individual lives and careers, we function in 3 levels:

1. What we do
2. How we do it

3. Why we do it

Taking the time to answer these questions can prove to be a valuable exercise in self reflection for any teacher, new or experienced.   

As teachers, we implicitly know what we do, we deliver content, we inspire learning, we motivate learners, we educate, we instruct, we tutor, we coach, we train . . . the list continues.   No new teacher or experienced teacher would have trouble answering question number 1.  

New teachers may be a bit fuzzy on the second question.  How do we do it?  Many of these answers will come with time.  Your answer to question 2 will evolve and change over the years as you hone your craft and become an expert in pedagogy.  The beauty of the second question, is that, as a teacher, you will be able to personalize the answer to fit the subject the mood and the learners. You will learn new techniques, be exposed to new programs, adopt new textbooks, try new practices, and new initiatives. Many will try to tell you that all this change is bad.  You will hear this again and again.  But, once you embrace this constant changing landscape, you will find it to be a source of delight, triumph, satisfaction, and interest in your career. This is one of the greatest joys of teaching. NEVER let anyone tell you anything to the contrary.  Question number 2 is what sets you apart, is the source of pride in your career. 

As a new teacher, the sooner you can communicate and reflect on WHY you do what you do, the more focused and content you will become. WHY is your cause, your belief, and as Simon Sinek explains; "It's the reason you get up in the morning."  Take some time to reflect on this.  Once you have a clear understanding of your why, make a symbol of it.  Hang that symbol where you will see it every day as your inspiration, your drive, your conviction.  

For the first few years of my teaching career, if someone would have asked me question 3, I would have answered "I love kids" or "I want to help kids learn"  and I am sure that most teachers today would answer with some iteration of this response.  It's all about the kids, nothing more - nothing less. This is noble, responsible, and expected.  I relish the vision of a multitude of teachers waking up every morning thinking about the impact they will make on the hearts and minds of their young learners.  

Since watching Simon Sinek's TED talk, and reading his book Start With Why, I have spent the last couple years pondering the "Why" question.   Of course the answer still has to do with the kids, but it has evolved to go beyond that.   Deeper, if you will.   In my next post, I will try to explain my "Why".  It has much to do with our responsibility as citizens to move the world forward.   The evolution and refinement of my "Why" was bolstered when I read this book by Joel Westheimer:

Of course, my next post will focus on service learning.  

3 Types of Teachers, Which Do You Aspire To Be?

In preparation for the new school year and new principals in which to inflict my leadership coaching upon, I recently attended a leadership conference.  Author Todd Whitaker was one of the keynote speakers.  

About 3 years ago I became fascinated with one of his books: Shifting The Monkey 
(The Art of Protecting Good People From Liars, Criers, and Other Slackers).  I paraphrased and shared the information from the book with everyone I know who holds any type of leadership position.  I also lent the book to my brother and haven't seen it since.   So I missed the opportunity to have Todd sign the book, I did come away with this picture of Todd, along with myself and a colleague:

In the inspiring message that he delivered at the conference, my biggest take away was the way he ranked the types of teachers he encountered in the buildings in which he lead. As I listened, I began to relate to his words:

Teachers tend to fall into one of 3 roles:

Superstar

Backbone

Mediocre

Even without the explanation and exercise that would follow, I began to sift my colleagues into the 3 types of teachers in my head.  And you are probably doing the same.   But, before you get too far let me offer some of his explanations about each role.

Superstar: These are the kinds of teachers every parent would want for their child.   They are the type of teachers every principal wants to lead.  They are the most dedicated, hardest working, passionate, professional teachers you will encounter in your lifetime.  The vision of these teachers reaches beyond themselves.  It is broad, long range and uses the lens of others to see what needs to be done to improve. They are not afraid to change, because they understand that change is the only way to move forward. They want what is best not only for the children in their own classroom, but what is best for all learners.  They have the drive to make positive change happen.  

Backbones:  The bulk of the teachers you encounter are backbones.  They are willing to try new things.  They take pride in doing their job and doing it "right".  They do what they are told, and they want to make themselves and their students look good.  Their vision is usually limited to their own classroom and they become overwhelmed when asked to work for things that don't affect them (or their own students) directly.  Their drive for change comes from acceptance, and knowing that they did what they were asked to do.  

Mediocre:  The mediocre teacher. . . well you may have encountered this one from time to time.   If you think about the bell curve, there are probably as many of these as there are superstars.  Mediocres are difficult, they provide a warm adult body in the classroom. They may try something new, but not with any expectation or determination.  They are usually looking for reasons why it won't work (and someone to blame when it doesn't).  They refer to themselves as burned out (but one may question if they were ever on fire to begin with!) When greeted with 'How are you today?' they usually offer a negative response.  They don't have much motivation and their vision rarely goes beyond themselves.  

The rest of the keynote focused on leading these 3 types of teachers and I will leave the details of this to Todd.  He has several books on the subject. including School Culture Rewired, and What Great Principals Do Differently.  

But the focus of my post is to help you recognize which of the 3 types of teachers you are (or want to be).  If you are a new teacher just entering the profession, this information should be something for you to reflect upon.  If you are a seasoned teacher who would like to renew your role, you may want to reflect also. 

Here are 3 questions to ponder:

1. When you think of the upcoming school year, where is your focus? (yourself? your class? every stakeholder in your school?)

2. When you discuss your job with others, what is your tone?

3. Why are you a teacher?  

The last question leads into my next post - Start With Why.   (You can prime yourself by watching this video by Simon Sinek)