"Ms. Cimini, you're one of the most real teachers I have ever had".
At the end of this school year, when a student said this to me, I took a moment to digest it. Then I realized it was one of the best compliments I had ever gotten as an educator.
If you have ever read my blog, you know that I teach middle school and I love it (I even wrote a post about how much I love teaching middle school - you can check it out here). I spent several years teaching high school as well, but middle school is my happy place for several reasons. I won't go into them all again, save one. Middle school is not just about what you are teaching. Most importantly it is about who and how you are teaching. Middle school kids are in the throes of becoming people and, as a middle school educator, I can help them to become who they are going to be. This aspect of the job is more important than any content knowledge I can teach them. When they leave my room at the end of the year, it is more important to me that I have helped them to become good people than it is that I have taught them science.
When I was a kid, teachers were teachers. They were nothing else to most student. On the rare occasion I would meet a teacher's kids when snow had closed Long Island schools but not NYC schools (in the 13 years I was a student in the NYC school system, there was not one snow day. It didn't matter how much snow was on the ground. School was open). But that was it. They weren't people that had lives, and *gasp* weaknesses. But things are different now. Social media and the internet makes teachers far more accessible to students. They know we are people with lives. They can find out a lot about us with some simple web searching. But it is also important that we share aspects of our lives directly with them. Share who you are and anything about you that you feel comfortable sharing. Let your students know about your strengths and your weaknesses. There are of course limits to what you should share, but share what you can and what you feel comfortable with.
For the last several years I have taught about the human body through the lens of diseases, with a focus on diabetes. Two of students that I have taught in the last few years have Type 1 diabetes and share their stories and experiences with the classes. This gives other students the courage to share their struggles. We have heard from students with severe scoliosis, hip dysplasia and asthma. When we learn about the endocrine system I tell them about my thyroid disease and I have shown them my own blood work from a bout of anemia.
This year, my students had a keen interest in mental health disease. Several of them told me of their struggles with anxiety. Some diagnosed and some not. A little over a year ago I also had some serious struggles with anxiety based around my health. It took me some time to come to terms with my anxiety (and several doctor visits where I was reassured I was not about to have a heart attack) and reach out for help. At first, this was something I was very reluctant to share with anyone, let alone my students. But I soon realized that anxiety is a disease like anemia or diabetes and is nothing to be ashamed of. And I share this with my students. I am human. I have struggles and weaknesses just like they do. But I am also a thriving, happy, successful and fairly awesome
adult. They need to know that your weaknesses and struggles don't define you and you can thrive in spite of them.
Be real with your students. Let them know that they are not defined by the struggles they have, but how they deal with them. Show them that you have struggles too. Talk to them about how you deal and how you manage to be successful. Help them to become strong adults that can cope and thrive. This is truly our most important job as educators.
At the end of this school year, when a student said this to me, I took a moment to digest it. Then I realized it was one of the best compliments I had ever gotten as an educator.
If you have ever read my blog, you know that I teach middle school and I love it (I even wrote a post about how much I love teaching middle school - you can check it out here). I spent several years teaching high school as well, but middle school is my happy place for several reasons. I won't go into them all again, save one. Middle school is not just about what you are teaching. Most importantly it is about who and how you are teaching. Middle school kids are in the throes of becoming people and, as a middle school educator, I can help them to become who they are going to be. This aspect of the job is more important than any content knowledge I can teach them. When they leave my room at the end of the year, it is more important to me that I have helped them to become good people than it is that I have taught them science.
When I was a kid, teachers were teachers. They were nothing else to most student. On the rare occasion I would meet a teacher's kids when snow had closed Long Island schools but not NYC schools (in the 13 years I was a student in the NYC school system, there was not one snow day. It didn't matter how much snow was on the ground. School was open). But that was it. They weren't people that had lives, and *gasp* weaknesses. But things are different now. Social media and the internet makes teachers far more accessible to students. They know we are people with lives. They can find out a lot about us with some simple web searching. But it is also important that we share aspects of our lives directly with them. Share who you are and anything about you that you feel comfortable sharing. Let your students know about your strengths and your weaknesses. There are of course limits to what you should share, but share what you can and what you feel comfortable with.
For the last several years I have taught about the human body through the lens of diseases, with a focus on diabetes. Two of students that I have taught in the last few years have Type 1 diabetes and share their stories and experiences with the classes. This gives other students the courage to share their struggles. We have heard from students with severe scoliosis, hip dysplasia and asthma. When we learn about the endocrine system I tell them about my thyroid disease and I have shown them my own blood work from a bout of anemia.
This year, my students had a keen interest in mental health disease. Several of them told me of their struggles with anxiety. Some diagnosed and some not. A little over a year ago I also had some serious struggles with anxiety based around my health. It took me some time to come to terms with my anxiety (and several doctor visits where I was reassured I was not about to have a heart attack) and reach out for help. At first, this was something I was very reluctant to share with anyone, let alone my students. But I soon realized that anxiety is a disease like anemia or diabetes and is nothing to be ashamed of. And I share this with my students. I am human. I have struggles and weaknesses just like they do. But I am also a thriving, happy, successful and fairly awesome
adult. They need to know that your weaknesses and struggles don't define you and you can thrive in spite of them.
Be real with your students. Let them know that they are not defined by the struggles they have, but how they deal with them. Show them that you have struggles too. Talk to them about how you deal and how you manage to be successful. Help them to become strong adults that can cope and thrive. This is truly our most important job as educators.
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| Be zany with your students. Be real. They will appreciate more than you realize. |
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