Gifts – (Part 1 of 5)
What gifts do you bring to the classroom? Sometimes, especially this year, we get caught up in the “doing” and forget how amazing we actually are! While we bring gifts to the class, those gifts are easily forgotten and often overlooked. In the midst of a pandemic, we are still responsible for providing the data, assessing, providing feedback, prepping for state testing, and oh, Zoom Zoom Zoom!
Pause for a moment and really ponder, what are the gifts you bring to your kids every day? Make a word list, journal, use the notes app on your phone… Whatever medium you choose pause to take stock of your gifts. At first, this will feel weird, almost indulgent, or self-centered. However, something magical happens in this process. As you begin to recall your gifts, you begin to break through the daily expectations and rekindle your purpose for being, for teaching. Save your list! Reference it on occasion to serve as a reminder of why you do what you do!
Author and edu leader from The Core Collaborative, Starr Sackstein, shared her gifts in a recent #corechat and said
I bring my empathy, passion, creativity, growth mindset, and focus. When I was in the classroom, I was always pushing for a more inclusive and student-centered space
From this shareout, she recalled a blog post she wrote that highlights how she used to Establish a Safe Place for Risk-Taking when she was in the classroom! Exercises like this are important. They fan our flame for doing what we do!
Feeling uplifted about your gifts? Do you have some to share? Tweet your discoveries to #myEDUgifts #corechat so that we can help one another fan our Edu flames!