Don't worry about being effective. Just concentrate on being faithful to the truth. ―Dorothy Day, journalist and social activist
How do you measure your effectiveness as a teacher? Too often we dwell in our ineffectiveness: our difficulties in dealing with children’s challenging behaviors, our struggles in communicating with families, our miscommunications with co-workers, our rising stress levels and subsequent exhaustion. Are you present and self-aware to celebrate your effectiveness in the everyday? When your classroom is in “flow,” do you breathe in the hum of engagement, smile, and recognize how your intentionality in design, materials, and timing allowed this to happen? Let’s congratulate ourselves for being the intentional teachers we are. Effective teachers know how to nurture themselves as well as others.
In loving memory of Gryphon House author Leanne Grace, MEd, we are sharing pieces of her inspirational writing every Wednesday. Leanne was the director of professional development at Hildebrandt Learning Centers and a lifelong advocate for early childhood education. She inspired the early childhood community to prepare children as lifelong learners with her ability to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. One person can make a difference, and Leanne did just that. She will be sorely missed.
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