Enthusiasm
"If you apply nothing else from this book, but you consistently ramp up your enthusiasm level in the classroom, you will be far ahead of the game and a dramatically better teacher." (65)
Burgess notes that there is good reason as to why he made Passion and Enthusiasm the cornerstones of Teach Like a Pirate. If you love what you do, how can you not be passionate and enthusiastic to do it each and every day. I think that sometimes we get bogged down into believing that teaching is just a job. But...it's not a job. It's a calling.
There is no doubt about it...there are some days when it is hard to roll out of bed, deal with all of the things in our personal lives, and then be able to "bring it" at school, but we have to "bring it." If we can't be excited to see our kids every day, see each other every day, and teach our subjects, how on earth can we expect our kids to be enthusiastic about learning from us.
"I refuse to cheat a student by delivering a subpar performance just because he has me later in the day, or early in the day when I'm not quite awake." (67)
How do we maintain enthusiasm without burning out?
The first way that Burgess suggests to increase your every day enthusiasm is to simply start by "faking enthusiasm" every day. "Even if you are only acting at first, an amazing thing happens along the way. You actually start to really feel and become enthusiastic because of your breath pattern and the way you are holding and moving your body." (69)
The second way to increase your every day enthusiasm is "to change what you focus on." (70). You've been in that situation before where you were tired and run down and then someone comes to you and tells you some great news. You're mood immediately changes because you're no longer focused on how tired you are...you're focused on the great news.
"As a teacher, your days comprise enough positive and negative experiences to either make you feel energized and amazing or beat down and depressed. What you choose to attend to creates your reality. Some teachers look out over a ninety-nine percent engaged classroom with kids on fire about learning and feel successful. Others choose to focus on the one percent and feel like failures. Make a conscious decision to focus on what empowers you." (70)
Discussion Questions:
- What do you do to maintain high levels of enthusiasm? If it's not something you think you currently do, what can you do moving forward?
Don't forget to respond to at least one one other person's comment.
In order to stay enthusiastic I try to stay away from negativity and focus on the positive. I try to remember to celebrate successes no matter how little they may be or seem. Another way I keep up enthusiasm is by distracting myself from what is bringing me down. I did this two years ago with a particularly challenging class by taking grad courses. Not only did this help distract me from focusing on only the problems, I was able to bring in new ideas to try from the courses.
ReplyDeleteGoing on line and reading about new ideas that other teachers are trying or have tried is another way I maintain enthusiasm. Looking for new ways to engage students is another way to stay enthusiastic. If my students are engaged and enthusiastic it filters down to me.
Also, working with colleagues that are positive and enthusiastic help to keep up my own enthusiasm. Of course, being silly and having fun works as well.