There are a lot of things in life that are known to be an important or momentous first experience in life.
- First Time You Learn to Ride a Bike
- First Kiss
- First Trip
- First Day of School
I might even add the first time you eat cake. Afterall, there are millions of hilarious and sweet videos of those little one-year old babies licking the icing for the first time and then doing a full-on nosedive into the cake. For most of society, we see many of our firsts in life as something positive or endearing. When do we lose this sense of excitement over learning something new or discovering a new favorite?
Over the last few months, I have heard a sentiment that all educators feel like first year teachers again because of the changes due to COVID-19. Without diminishing how overworked and weary our school teachers and education leaders are right now with the daily demands of adjusting to synchronous and asynchronous schedules, this sentiment has a connotation which seems somewhat negative and even exudes that being a first-year teacher is a bad thing. Sure, the first year or years of teaching can be daunting, but we must not forget how exciting it was for us. When educators enter their first year of teaching, they step into the profession full of hope and wonder. Imagine getting some of that back?
Let’s not ignore the fact that 2020 has been and is trying. We have had to deal with loss, disappointment, isolation, fear…just to name a few off the top of my head. I want to look at the glass half full. Trust me, I don’t always do that. I have seen plenty of glasses half empty, especially lately. But this time, I am afraid that we or I might miss out.
I have been fortunate enough to mentor and work with student teachers and first year teachers. I have seen them come in all excited, enthusiastic, and nervous on their first day at school. And although there may not be a lot of experience behind them, there is unequivocal passion for the job, for the kids, and for education that can be infectious. Do you remember what that was like? Have you lost some of that essence?
Joel Thottan presents “Seeking Firsts” in his TED Talk where he had to adjust because his slides won’t work due to technology issues. Sound familiar? 😊 But if we ignore the simplicity of just a man standing on bare stage, we hear a message that tells us not to be afraid to try something for the first time. Even though we feel forced to do a lot of new things under enormous pressure and stress, I want to try to still use this time recognizing that I/we can discover new things. Thottan suggests that wouldn’t it be great if we can avoid saying in the future, “What if I had…?” We should be happy that things sometimes don’t go the way it was planned. You might miss out on things that you never would have expected or learn more about yourself.
Thottan says in his TED Talk that “planning can become a comfort zone”. Although not bad, it might limit you to other possibilities in life. What if we find that during this time, we have discovered even a small bit of opportunity to learn something new or get to know a side of ourselves we did not know existed? And this time might end up leaving us with a new interest or pedagogy—a chance for both personal and professional growth.
See You Real Soon,
Erin
Join the inspirational community…
[fluentform id=”1″]