But I would caution you against that, as such attitudes are like the weeds that, left alone, will spread, sapping the life out of the parts of you from which great teaching flows. You can maintain an internal posture of “I'm better than them” (dig deep enough into your heart, and that's the attitude that's likely there, my friend). If you're like I was and you view the burnt out teachers in your building with disdain, you need to pause and accept the fact that they were once probably as passionate as you.īut, if you'd rather, you don't have to accept that. Remember: No one gets into teaching hoping to one day burn outĪs a new teacher, I used to look down on older, burnt out teachers until I realized that none of them, years ago with newly minted teaching certificates in their hands, dreamed of one day becoming burnt out gripemasters. The scary thing is that if we just let our hearts run on auto-pilot, we, like an ignored garden, will wake up one day to find that our internal selves are a hot mess.
![jedi mind trick definition jedi mind trick definition](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_4EQ8SuWPBo4/TLw6GxCTIGI/AAAAAAAAELs/59jz8LiSBQw/s1600/jedi+mind.jpg)
Gardening is a lot of work - that's why I'm horrible at it (see the photo above) - and so is keeping a heart and mind that can teach well.
![jedi mind trick definition jedi mind trick definition](https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/5/55/Jedi_Mind_Trick_SWL.png)
![jedi mind trick definition jedi mind trick definition](https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2906/14025095037_2266b6d28b_m.jpg)
Picture your mind/heart as a garden that needs constant tending, weeding, watering, fertilizing, and stuff like that. Likewise, the difference between teachers who maximize their impact long-term and those who get burnt out is that impactful teachers cultivate a mind bent on impact.Ĭultivate is a key word - it brings up gardening imagery. When we approach standards like the Common Core with a “How can I wrangle this thing into something that promotes long-term student flourishing” attitude rather than a “Oh what now!?” attitude, the standards don't take our hearts out of the game and instead offer us a chance to learn a bit more about what it is we're after as teachers.Īll of that is to say that the difference between my blog and a lot of “Common Core Aligned” resources/blogs out there is that I emphasize us, as educators, owning the standards and making sense of them so that they can inform (not deform) our literacy instruction. Back when I started this blog, I considered standards one more group of things that were out to “get” us teachers, to rip out the heart of our profession.Īnd yet I now see that this need not be the case. So here's what few teacher books will tell you - great teaching is only possible when your heart is in it, and yet there are so many factors seemingly bent on removing our hearts completely. Key #2: The You Level, or Jedi Mind Tricks for Avoiding Burnout It's worth noting that these levels build upon one another - meaning that today's post on “the you level” is actually more important than the next two posts on Classroom and School/Community levels. Now, let's get into the nitty gritty by looking at the first of three “levels” I think we need to strive within if we're to build an impactful career. In my last post, I discussed Key #1, which is simply the need to define what impact is. I think the keys to building impactful careers are below: So now is where the fun part comes in - this is the question we can dedicate our careers to: How in the world do we promote the long-term flourishing of our students? And how do we do so without becoming hopelessly demoralized by all the garbage? It's a constant battle - Steven Pressfield's The War of Art comes to mind - but such a worthy one. That's neat, Dave, but how do we actually do this?
![jedi mind trick definition jedi mind trick definition](https://img.youtube.com/vi/f_lp8hj_hA8/0.jpg)
I may not be the next Ron Clark, but I'm fulfilling my calling to impact kids. Thus, if I, as a teacher, can promote the long-term flourishing of a student, I go to bed at night content in the knowledge that I have had an impact on that kid's life. (Sorry, blame-mongers: I used the word “promote,” not “guarantee.”)
JEDI MIND TRICK DEFINITION HOW TO
While some may have found it a bit too basic, I see no other way to begin seriously considering how to build an impactful career than by starting with the ultimate aim of teaching: the long-term flourishing of our students.įrom there, we find our truest, simplest job description: as educators, our job is to promote the long-term flourishing of kids. #gardenfacepalmĪ lot of us educators got into this gig because we wanted to impact lives. As a result, it is the Michigan version of a jungle. We've been in our house for two years now, and the most cultivating I've done on this beast is to apply the weed-whipper to it once or twice a summer.