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Laying Out a Teaching Legacy

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how my friend Junior had posted on his blog calling for people to write about what kind of a legacy we wanted to leave. I have been thinking a whole lot over the past few months about my progression as a teacher, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity to really flesh out some about what kinds of things I have been through.

I’ve sort of broken things down by year and I would be interested to know how many other teachers could say their progress as a teacher has been similar. Clearly I have not yet arrived, but I have learned a handful of things along the way, and it’s been an exciting (though challenging) journey. With all of these introductory formalities, here goes:

So I’ve been thinking a whole lot this summer and into this school year about how people will remember me. I recently had my 31st birthday and while I am still considered young in most eyes, it brought back memories of my first few years of teaching.

I remember distinctly a conversation I had with one of the veteran English teachers during my second year where I was lamenting how old the students made me feel. I made some pop culture reference and it was met with absolute silence. They weren’t even alive whenever the TV show aired. It hit me hard. She told me that I wasn’t old until I was 30. Well, that number came and went. Ha.

I also remember a conversation I had with my mentor teacher while I was student teaching. She told me that she didn’t even begin to feel like she had a clue how to teach until she started her 8th year. I heard that and went on my merry way thinking I had a clue.

Then my first year came and crashed into a brick wall. Yet it was still August. I continued holding my foot on the gas and driving into the metaphorical wall for the next year and a half until I was suddenly struck with a “new revelation” that I didn’t really have much of a clue. So I spent the remainder of the year asking questions like crazy from anyone and everyone I could possibly think of to ask questions to.

I started my third year in a brand new district and I really had much better control of the classroom management aspect of teaching. My students at the 6th grade knew what I expected them to do, and they knew that failure to do that would result is consequences. Things were much better as far as getting things accomplished, but I was still relying too heavily on fear and manipulation (oops, I mean extrinsic rewards).

After that year, I thought I had a real clue. My beginners suffered the following year because I didn’t really do a whole lot of growing professionally. I just kind of coasted by the whole year and tried to see how much less work I could get away with doing while still keeping up a reasonable level of proficiency from the band. There were some students who didn’t participate, and there were some who didn’t follow directions well. I didn’t push myself too much, and I just tried to coerce or intimidate them into participating/behaving. If it worked, great. If not, then I inadvertently blamed them and left them behind. Of course I didn’t see it that way, but I think it could easily be argued that I in fact did do that.

My fifth year was quite a bit better in that I spent the summer before doing a lot of reading (The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, The Total Money Makeover, Fish!). I approached the year with more of a customer-service type take, and really wanted to make the band experience better for the students. Not only in having fun and being able to play some cool music, but I really tried to reach out and bond with the students more.

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