Passion Drives Performance

Scrounging for grades in the midst of short weeks, struggling to schedule activities that won't overlap between the grade levels,  mounds of paperwork you received yesterday that is due today!
These are just a few of the stressful situations that encompass the end of the academic year days of a teacher.

Over the past few weeks I have watch pressure and tension rise as activities, paperwork deadlines, meetings, and posting grades begin to bottleneck.  So much is due in such a small window of time while both teachers and administration feel the urgency and expectancy of SUMMER!

I am a listener.  It is who I am. I don't mean to eavesdrop, it just happens! So, as I listen in the halls, the cafeteria, the lounge, faculty meeting, there seems to be one thing that I notice. 

 

Your PASSION drives your PERFORMANCE!

Not only your performance, but the performance of your students as well.

 

 

 

During one of my listening sessions, I overheard several adults say "Why do we have to do that?", "_____ doesn't even care?", "Well are they going to supply that for us?", "Isn't that ___ 's job to do that?". It got me to thinking.  Is this really your passion? What do you expect from your students? What if you expected out of your students what you put into your performance?

 

Over the years there is one thing that I have recognized.  Really good teachers put EVERYTHING into their job.  They perform with PASSION.  They can be found dressed up in weird outfits, purchasing materials for hands-on activities, or looking for ways to make a boring lesson fun. Most of the time they are spending their own money, and if they don't have it, they are asking for sponsors.

 

In contrast, there are those whose performance proves LACK OF PASSION. They are complaining about things like having to buy a pack of card stock.  These are the teachers trying to tell me why it doesn't matter if the first graders participate in the reading incentive rather than pushing the students to read more.  They are the first ones to gripe about something not being done, but never offered to lend a hand.

 

 Think about when people at a stadium begin a wave.  It begins with one person suggesting it, then a small group joins in.  Next you see entire sections join in the wave. Eventually the whole stadium is one constant rolling wave of people. Why, because a small group of people got excited and really looked like they were having fun, which caused everyone else to want to get in on the action.

 

If we are to change a generation, then we need to examine how we lead.  We as teachers and administrators need to get excited about what we can do for these kids.  Walk across the hall and let your kids see you laughing with your coworkers to model friendship.  Pick up a pick of paper to model caring about our property. Say please and thank you to your principal to model respect and gratefulness. We can change a life, a future!

As we close the year and begin to look toward the next, let's examine our passion.  Let's allow our passion be reflected in our classroom planning, preparing, and performance.

 

Hey, let's start a wave!