Passion: A Teacher's Superpower

At the start of the year, our district was fortunate enough to have a visit from the educational pirate himself; Dave Burgess.  If you are not familiar with his book Teach Like a Pirate, you should make yourself familiar.  In what often seems like a profession that thrives on beating you down, demanding more and providing nothing but criticism in what you do, it is a refreshing outlook, that is sure to remind you of why you became a teacher.  Burgess uses the word PIRATE not only as an acronym, but an educational metaphor that teachers can relate to.  The P in Pirate is the most important to me, not only as an educator, but as a mom of three children.
Yet, are educators up against insurmountable expectations? Do we have a greater obligation to be passionate about what we do, more than other professions? What if we aren't passionate about working with kids? Ethically speaking, are we accountable for teaching with passion? And if we aren't, should we find a new line of work?  Most educators don't go into teaching without having a love for working with kids.

There is no secret as to why teachers may start out eager and energetic about entering the teaching profession, and then over time lose interest, lose the spark that they started with. Is initiative overload pushed by administration too overwhelming?  I think the real question is, how do we get that spark back? I personally think that we have to be mindful of our teaching and our attitude towards it.  My theory is that self-reflection is a key component to the longevity of loving what you do.  We always hear that there isn't enough time and how do we fit reflection into a world that is constantly adding more to our plate?  As educators we can reflect in a number of different ways.  Taking the time to analyze our practice is one way, and a truly necessary step in achieving professional growth.  However, taking the time to reflect on a more personal level and looking at our attitude in the classroom and towards our students is key.  Do you love what you do?  If your answer is no, what are you going to do about it?

In Teach Like a Pirate, Dave Burgess does a phenomenal job breaking down passion in the teaching profession into three different categories:  Content passion, Professional passion and Personal passion.  It is a refreshing reminder of what we as educators lose sight of and don't always think about as a priority.   Teaching is more than a job, it brings with it an expectation of greatness and pride on our work.  We need to make sure we don't lose sight of how amazing we can be for ourselves and our students.