TIPS: Six ways to stay motivated as a teacher
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Whether you are a teacher yourself or know someone who is, this might just come in handy when you are feeling particularly de-motivated at your desk, staring at young faces that you still need to teach for the rest of the year and all you want to do is kick back with some sort of tropical drink soaking up the sun in the 'no-kids zone'.
In my opinion as a third party observer, every teacher or educator of sorts comes to a point in his/her career asking the following question, "What am I doing here?"
Growing up and being raised by a teacher I have learned that there has to be constant changes and motivations seeing that the educational world is an emotional rollercoaster of being angry, happy, frustrated and tired at the same time.
Here are a few ways that you can incorporate in your day-to-day schedule to keep yourself motivated as a teacher:
1. Set goals for yourself and your classroom
Setting goals is a common thing in any workplace, but for a teacher it is important to set goals in the classroom as well as personal goals to avoid your lessons from becoming tedious and monotonous, not only for yourself but more important for your learners.
Giving rewards is also a great idea when it comes to getting your goals in motion.
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2. Get to know your learners
Don't treat your learners as just another name on the list. Remember their names and faces and get to know them on a personal, yet professional setting where he/she feels comfortable. By increasing your knowledge of your learners that you see on a regular basis you will automatically feel more motivated to make an even bigger difference in their lives.
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3. Write down your thoughts
Keeping a journal of your thoughts and ideas has never hurt anyone and once you have written down your feelings you might just feel like not strangling Johnny for not doing his homework once again and disrupting the class until the extent of you banging your head against the chalk board.
And who knows, it might be a good laugh one day when you read it aloud to your children or grandchildren and its never a bad thing to write things down, because let's face it, teachers short term memories are non existing.
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4. Get out of your comfort zone
Challenge yourself by doing something that you hate. This is especially helpful to student teachers that are still not too sure of their specialization field. If Literature or History makes your skin creep then I say do it. Do more research and teach a class, you might just end up liking it after all, and what greater feeling and motivation to show yourself that you are able to do anything that you put your mind to.
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5. Be the motivation
By motivating your learners and pushing them to do better in their work, you will automatically be motivated yourself by seeing the difference that you are making in their work as well as their lives.
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6. Enjoy your down time
Don't feel guilty when you go on holiday, I promise you that your learners have forgotten about you the moment they stepped out of your classroom. Soak up the goodness of having 3 or 4 vacations a year.
Work hard, play hard.
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These are just a few handy tips to remember the next time you want to pack your handbag and march right out of the school gates and never look back.
I do hope that teachers always stay motivated in what they are doing, because you are the difference that the world wants to see.
Education is key and to all teachers out there, thank you for making a difference in millions of children's lives. Also, and I quote the lovely Miss Katniss Everdeen from Hunger Games, "May the odds be ever in you favour."
