Flashback to last year, where I attended the conference and sat bright-eyed and bushy-tailed while teachers Hope King, Wade King, Amy Lemons, and many others presented. I took in everything they said and absorbed the information like a sponge. I credit this conference and the amazing teachers who are a part of it for so much of the passion that was lit in my teacher heart.
Flash forward to this year. Because of a little something called social media, my friends Chelsey, Kori, and I became connected to Hope and Amy and started getting to know them. When they came to visit our school with their hubbies, Wade and Jared, we offered to help with Get Your Teach On. Little did I know, being a part of the GYTO team would teach me a lot more than how to quickly fill hundreds of bags with freebies and manipulatives!
Because we spent almost all day together during the week, I really got to know the fabulous teachers I was working with. Occasionally, I would look around and take a deep breath and remind myself how cool it was to get to be behind the scenes of such a momentous conference. On my Timehop, pictures popped up from last year when I was so star-struck about the presenters, and now I am able to call them close friends. It’s really amazing how much can happen in a year! Our down time was spent talking about resources, planning for next year, and helping each other come up with new ideas. I was getting to learn from some of my favorite teachers up close and personal. If you can’t tell, it was pretty much the coolest few days ever. In addition to teacher talk, we also laughed a wholeee lot! Over the few days, we became like a mini-family, and I’m so thankful to have been a part of it all!
I am quite the sappy and sentimental person. Just play the first few seconds of one of those Sarah McLachlan puppy commercials and I am a puddle! This also means that when it comes to goodbyes, I am not the best. I was so sad to say goodbye to my new teacher fam, but on the drive home, I began to think about everything I learned from the conference. Yes, I took away new call and responses and techniques for reading and writing, but I also learned a few things that will help when times get tough in and out of the classroom. My self-assigned GYTO homework is to share these things with you in hopes that you, too, will learn something from my time with the GYTO team.
1. It Takes a Village
Holy moly if this ain’t the truth then I don’t know what is! Fortunately, our GYTO team consisted of some pretty dynamite people. Shout out to all of my GYTO peeps! I'm so lucky to have gotten to work with all of Y'ALL! :) This conference would not happen if everyone didn’t work together to get ‘er done. Every set up and tear down was a workout pretty comparable to Crossfit. Success in the classroom also takes a village! We have to remember to utilize the resources we have like reading specialists, administrators, veteran teachers, parents, and teammates. We cannot save the world on our own! Ask for help. Take your time. Let others teach you things from experience. Soak up the advice. It’s worth it.
2. Find Your Passion and Give It All You’ve Got
Clearly, we’re in the classroom for a reason. We love kids. We had a teacher who inspired us to follow in their footsteps. We want to be significant. Whatever it is, mark it as your purpose and focus on it. In order to make a difference, there has to be a difference maker ready for the challenge. The GYTO presenters are clearly passionate about helping other educators succeed. It was a pleasure to watch the same fire be lit inside so many other teachers that I have myself! One of Hope’s most used phrases is “give it all you’ve got.” And why shouldn’t we? If we’ve dedicated our life to this passion, we need to act like it. No halfsies. No excuses. All. You’ve. Got.
3. We are Each Other’s Greatest Resource
When I started blogging and Instagramming about a year ago, I had no idea that I would get to meet so many creative and impactful teachers! Social media has done wonders for my classroom and my teaching style because I’m able to see things that other educators are doing and adapt them and use them in my teaching. We can sit in meetings time after time and read book after book about the next best thing in education, but the next best thing in education is actually us! Teachers are a powerhouse when we use social media for good, not for comparison or envy. Find your people, appreciate them, and help each other as much as you can!
4. Teaching is a Labor of Love
Every part of Get Your Teach On is thoroughly thought through and planned out. From the giveaways to the 4-5 breakout, it all takes work and it all takes love. Same thing goes with our classrooms and our students. Things don’t just change overnight. We’ve got to put “umph” behind everything we do. Pray about things. Take your time planning interventions and lessons so that they are executed well. Be intentional. Love what you’re doing, and you will see the impact being made.
5. Learn from Your Mistakes and Fix Them
It’s no secret that teachers make mistakes. One time, I accidentally said “crap” during a lockdown drill and I learned that it was a big mistake and that I shouldn’t do that in a room full of 5th graders ever again. See? Make mistakes, learn from them, and try your best not to repeat them. From Dallas, to San Antonio, to Houston, GYTO changed each day because the team was trying to make the experience as great as possible for the teachers. Lesson didn’t flow and teachers were fading? Put a break in the middle. Didn’t have enough glow sticks for the rave? Make sure to have a bag of extras in the back. Same thing goes with teaching! If you realize that you run out of time in the middle of a lesson, readjust things. If you find that your lesson is tanking and your students aren’t getting it, take a breather and go to Plan B. Mistakes are not implications of failure, but implications of effort!
6. Have Fun
So often we are dragged down by standards, evaluations, and unrealistic expectations that we forget that we CHOSE this career! While our classrooms and jobs might be perfect or what we once imagined, we are here. We’ve got to find joy, even if that means we make crazy videos for an escape room or let kids write Knock-Knock jokes for morning work! My GYTO team included some of the funniest people I’ve ever met. They’re good at making others laugh and laughing at themselves! If you’re not having fun at the place you spend way too much time at, then what in the world are you doing?!
As we reach the halfway point in our summers, remember to keep these things in mind. Rest up, do fun things, and spend time with people who make you happy. I’m so thankful for my GYTO experience, and I hope that this homework helps you remember a few important things about teaching like you mean it!
Don't ever forget how much potential you have!
Meg