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From the engaging opening of Chapter 1 of Stephen D Brookfield's The Skillful Teacher: On Technique, Trust, and Responsiveness in the Classroom, his apt description of today's classroom and expectations of instructors as well as his tell it like it is statement "Our lives as teachers often boil down to our best attempts to muddle through the complex contexts and configurations that our classrooms represent" ; I was hooked.
I encourage you to read this empowering and encouraging handbook for instruction. My top 5 takeaways from Chapter 1 are:
1. Each situation we find ourselves in grows our professional practice and gives us skills we did not have before we encountered a scenario in which we would need them.
2. Being ok with being an imperfect human being under considerable professional pressure gives ourselves the benefit of giving grace to ourselves which helps us to operate from a higher place than reactive stress and which will in turn allow us to give grace to and engage in cooperative behavior with both our colleagues and our students.
3. Being honest with our own experiences and short-comings (for example in sharing opinions, worries, etc) allows others to be encouraged and try something at the risk of failing. It is in the attempt that the learning is made.
4. Setting aside ego is of benefit beyond the classroom. It is such a freeing way to live. Instructing allows us to get there faster as we meet many challenges through everyday situations that need to be navigated. Many of them may feel beyond us. In this way, Instructing as a profession is a gift.
5. Being open to learning makes each day an adventure.
Blog post image is my own. You can find the original here