Fun for Teachers Too
Posted by Jen Bragg on 14 Aug 2009 | Posted in: Inspiration and Motivation, Relationships and Team Building, Teachers and Teaching
In my opinion, one of teaching’s best perks is the chance to learn new things. How great is it, when planning or teaching a lesson, to discover a fabulous new book or make a connection to a previously learned fact? Better still, how fun is it to get involved with students’ learning and have a new experience yourself? What do I mean? One example that comes to mind occurred early in my teaching career, when I taught fifth grade. Our students were being treated to a special three-day science and math program. It was a change from our regular routine and all the activities were hands-on, so of course the kids loved it! But it wasn’t just the students who benefited from this program. The fifth-grade teachers got a treat too—a helicopter ride over the surrounding community. While experiencing my only helicopter flight to date, I was able to get a different perspective on the community while sharing a few laughs with my coworkers. Another example occurred a few years later on a field trip to a local science center. We were observing various insects, one of which was a Madagascar hissing cockroach. The students were encouraged to hold it, but some of my second graders were a bit squeamish. Let me just say I’ve never been a fan of holding insects, but to assure my students that it would be okay for them to touch, I reached down and picked up that extra-large insect. Dangerous it was not, but I will never forget its prickly legs gripping my skin as it walked up my arm. I guess you could say I learned something about insects and myself that day.
Congratulations to Linda Powell of Powell Family Child Care in Eureka, California. She is the winner of a copy of Math Melodies, PreK-K.
18 Comments |
Subscribe
|
Email This
18 Responses to “Fun for Teachers Too”
More Comments Pages: « 1 [2] Show All Comments
More Comments Pages: « 1 [2] Show All Comments
Teaching is one of the best professions ever. I normally work with kidnergarten and I have them to thank for helping me try many things because I want to show them that they can do it. I will never forget when we had a animal show came to the school and I had to touch a snake. It really wasnt so bad after all. Of course some of my children still refused to give it a try but I was able to get a few on board.
In college, one of my work-study jobs was to care for the lab animals. One of the professors hobbies was to raise hissing cockroaches. Normally, I don’t mind insects, but these were so large. Imagine my anxiety the day I walked in to find their cage tipped over and the cockroaches all over the floor! Ugh!
I agree that learning new things is a perk of teaching. I love hearing a child’s point of view. My kindergartners enjoyed it when I told them I would have to look something up and we could discuss it the next day.
I am always on the lookout for a new field trip because I always learn something new. I think my biggest challenge was the year I went up in a cherry picker with one of my preschoolers. For someone who is scared of heights that ride where I was up 400 feet in the air was amazing. Teaching is a amazing job where you learn new things about the world around you and also about yourself every year.
Although I too am not sure whether I could have picken up that huge roach. LOL.
I am not ashamed to pull out the dictionary in front of my kids or tell them I do not know but I will research and get back to you BUT there is NO way I could of picked up the bug! I am impressed:)
Kudos to you for picking up that bug! I will do a lot of things, but cockroaches may be my limit.
You are right though, when you expand your own thinking it really does open up a new world of possibilities for you.