We're All the Same Egg on the Inside

As I grow as a person, I'm learning about what traits I value in myself and others, and how I want to portray myself to the world.  Still being in teachers college I think about what I'm going to do to grow as a teacher. In school I am learning a lot of practical information such as assessment, rules & regulations, and how to go about your day to day in terms of routine and discipline.  However I can tell you first hand that life doesn't follow a routine, and all the rules in the world can't help you understand something that you know nothing about.  Sure theory is great, but we as young teachers need to dig deeper.  We need to learn and understand which traits and qualities we need to portray to our students to be the accepting, approaching and warm teachers we wish to be.  Because even if you slip up for one minute, you can loose the students trust and portray an image of yourself to the vulnerable youth that you never wished to portray.

This video hit home for me.  It validated everything that I stress about as a young teacher going into a school for the second time.  That there are teachers out there who do not care, they still have the mindset that students are kids and teachers are adults.  When I consider those socially constructed terms, I know a lot of teachers who know a whole lot less about life then the teenagers they teach.  We are all humans, we all have emotions, up ands down, good days and bad.  We need to act as a role model to the students who are going through difficult times, show compassion and interest, and allow them to know that we want whats best for them!

I wanted to take a paragraph to go into a bit more detail about some of the things the students said in the video.  About how they did not feel supported by the teachers, and what we can do to change this attitude.  One of the students said that she would hear teachers whispering about her as she walked by.  This is very childish of the teacher, how can you except students to not bully and behave properly if you cannot do it yourself.  You may think that students can't hear what you say or see what your doing, however that is not normally the case, they are quite observant.  Students look up to teachers as role models, therefore you should treat the students with the same respect you'd want them to give you.  The student in the video went on to explain how the teachers actions affect her learning- it made her not want to come to school which resulted in not paying attention.  This is the exact opposite of what you want to accomplish as a teacher.  You want them to feel same in a comfortable,  in a welcoming environment.  The grade 11 student said that she doesn't understand how you can judge someone just from their sexuality.  This reminded me of an awesome activity that I learned this year.  You need different coloured eggs- that represent different people in terms of; race, skin colour, eye colour, sexuality, etc.  So they would be labeled from the outside but as soon as the students crack them they see that they are all the same colour on the inside.  There are so many activities you can do to show your students first hand that we are all the same, its up to you as a teacher to make an effort to do them and discuss with your students.

I'm going to finish this blog with a powerful quote that the student said about her experience with teachers.  I want to end with this so you can reflect on your classroom.  Think about your actions and if there is anything you could do to make all students more comfortable.

"Sit in our seat and let us show you what your doing to us- I know a lot of teens don't feel comfortable at all."