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When one hears the term dedicated they often think of someone who puts in long hours. When you hear of a dedicated teacher many think of the one who is still at school at 8 pm each night. Is this person dedicated? Of course! Do you have to work 60+ hours a week to be considered dedicated? I don’t think so…
I know one teacher who makes dedication look different. When I taught with her I thought she was lazy {eek – I feel so guilty about this looking back at it!}. Then I became her principal.
I realized she worked her tail off from 8-4, but she walked out the door to spend the evening with her family. However, I would get e-mails as late as 10:30 at night from her with ideas or questions. She also would respond to parent e-mails during this time. Was she lazy? No! She was efficient and dedicated! Did she do some of the same lesson and activities year to year? Yes. However, she knew they worked AND she was willing to try new things.
Then there’s the teacher who works 80 hours a week, tirelessly giving everything to her students. Obviously this is dedication as well.
So how can two people with such different approaches to teaching be dedicated? I think dedication holds many different faces. Here’s what I think a dedicated teacher looks like, and you do not need to meet all the criteria!
You Might Be a Dedicated Teacher If…
- …you work beyond the contractual hours (whether at school, home, at your child’s ballgame, etc.).
- …you talk about “your kids” all the time. Your spouse knows them all by name and some of their families too!
- …you have spent more of your own money on your classroom than you care to admit. And you’d really like to turn all of those receipts into the IRS each year, but they only let you claim $250.
- …you’ve conducted a parent/teacher conference somewhere out of the ordinary – say in the grocery store aisle.
- …you give other teachers a knowing “look” at various points in the year (conferences, back to school night, school concert night, picture day, etc) because you’ve been in their shoes.
- …you’ve ever felt like a guidance counselor, nurse, mentor, event coordinator, entertainer, manager, mediator, detective, AND reporter – all at the same time!
- …you do everything you can to follow the rules and procedures (which there are a LOT of!) set for by your school, district, state, or nation.
- …but you also realize some rules are meant to be broken.
- …you’ve come to work sick because that was easier than making sub plans!
- …you have spent a good chunk of a weekend or holiday prepping, lesson planning, or researching something to help your students better understand the concept the next week.
- …you’ve paid money out of your own pocket for a child’s lunch, field trip money, or even just clean clothes to wear.
- …you volunteer for school events, even when you don’t have to. Perhaps you’re the chairperson for the social events or you stepped up to take on negotiations.
- …you’ve tried most of the new “strategies”, “theories”, and “methods” that have come along in recent years to keep things fresh and exciting for your students. (But you secretly know what works, so you have a
- …you’ve ever worn an invisible superhero cape!
For the most part, teachers are dedicated! Yes, we all know one or two that may not appear as much-so as others. However, look at the example I gave at the beginning of this post. Most teachers have their hearts in the right place. Most teachers want what is best for their students. Our ways of getting to that “best” might look different, but we are all in this together!
Thank you to the many dedicated teachers out there! Without you, our students would not be where they are today! What would you add to this list? Because I know there are hundreds – if not thousands – of ways to be a dedicated teacher. 🙂
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