http://junialeigh.wordpress.com/2010/07/23/influential-thoughts/
As a writer, I always found that by being honest in my pieces, impacts others more because they can find something that they can relate to. As a teacher I noticed the same. Being honest about my mistakes and what I may not know showed the students that I am a human being first and foremost, at some point in life I may have been just like them so I'm not their enemy. When they see me admit to an error and take steps to correct it, they see the importance doing so and how it helps me grow. When I don't know something, showing them that and showing the steps I take to find out teaches them it is ok to admit when you don't know as long as you find out what is correct. When I first started teaching, I thought that as a teacher, I had to display some all knowing authority character. I had to stop and think back to my student days and how I felt about teachers that were like that. They were more unapproachable and we didn't take anything they said seriously because we viewed them as fake. I didn't want to be that type of teacher.
Any student who has ever had me as a teacher says the same thing about me: I am real, I may be hard, but I help them and even though they work, they do more than they thought they could. That reflection is consistent amongst all the grade levels I've taught and I am proud to live up to that. Early on in my teaching career I came across a quote that I have tried to live up to every single school year that I've taught. "Am I the teacher I would want my child to have?" When I read that, I knew immediately that if I am not treating my students the way I would want a teacher to treat my child, then I am not being the best educator I can be. I only want the best for my own children and I know that my students only deserve the best from me. The day that I feel that I can no longer supply my best, then it is time to stop teaching.
Amen, my friend. Students of all ages, if they care at all, have automatic BS meters and they won't care what they're suppose to learn in your class if they think you are anything less than genuine. This point is generally missed by those who confuse grades for learning.
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