30-Day Blogging Challenge: Day 15

Day 15: Name three strengths you have as an educator

1) My favorite strength is my sense of humor. This is often paired with sarcasm and a strong sense of the absurd. This 3-point strategy often takes people by surprise, and I have to say I watch carefully to see how my take on things are going over. High school kids are often surprised that I am funny, which makes me laugh. Little kids like my humor, which takes the form of being a little bit silly. Middle school kids are just beginning to see the sarcastic side of me. That might not be good... I like to make people laugh. Laughter can defuse a tense situation, it can be used to make a point, and it's a stress-reliever. A sense of humor is essential in education, and I often point out that if I didn't have a sense of humor, I would be deadly. Thank goodness for Gary Larson - he gave my sense of humor legitimacy!

2) I am creative. I enjoy finding solutions to problems. Over the years, I have been assigned to teach a wide and often weird variety of classes. These often come with no curriculum, textbook, nothing - just an idea. I make it work. Yes, it takes time. It does require some thinking outside the box. I think it's kind of fun.

3) Consistency. I had to ask my husband about this one, because I was stuck. I believe in structure, and a predictable routine. Kids who have chaos in their lives need a place where they know what's going to happen each day, and that's my classroom. I think a lot of it comes from being a librarian. In a library, you put books back in the same place, otherwise you can't find it again. Checkout processes stay the same, and the kids know what to do. Routines in the library are predictable and consistent, because without those two things, you might just as well shelve books by color - red books together, blue books together, tall books - you get the picture. In the classroom, I like routines. Kids need to know what to expect from me. Do I change it up every now and then? Yes, of course I do. I mean, I get bored with the same old/same old, too, but I have always believed that especially for kids who have no consistency at home, they need it at school, and while every teacher has their own style, kids are able to differentiate between styles and teachers. My students know that I am consistent, and I think it makes them feel safe, if that makes sense.