The Captivating Teacher Manifesto

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXtdwG6D7FaY9JhRT48atpplOLPZ8O5vt_X_aiaT4hxN9QZJfeITWNGGbO4byyeZV8PXO-5pnxAf6DmCa-DXeyKktGmxADJAO0t2lTZnrIjPy2qWE5DhCprWf0AFvC5aDmGrKICiO6vpTg/s1600/bigstock-Digital-Age-Concept-1668013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXtdwG6D7FaY9JhRT48atpplOLPZ8O5vt_X_aiaT4hxN9QZJfeITWNGGbO4byyeZV8PXO-5pnxAf6DmCa-DXeyKktGmxADJAO0t2lTZnrIjPy2qWE5DhCprWf0AFvC5aDmGrKICiO6vpTg/s640/bigstock-Digital-Age-Concept-1668013.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />I want to be captivating. I want to entrance students with my subject. I want students fascinated to walk into my classroom.<br /><br /><b>I am the teacher of THIS subject. </b>I can't make all their subjects captivating, that isn't my job. I can speak of the importance of English, Math, Science, History and pull a little into my topic, but<b> I will make my class one they want to come to.</b><br /><b><br /></b><b>I will be that teacher who captivates them. </b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVouclyeoAlDktbFVYeJXzgDXV3Oz3oq8WHbtmvQmC29-IA6Fx0fOYt8jqdQR1xTFDz_tugLa1wA7DdO-BsWpkiYg-0XHcUYEjXococcIOmaHEs92cbu__7mdgPPgGlXD2gc-uMBbmRmV/s1600/bigstock-Camp-Fire-At-Night-Flame-And--1821425+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQVouclyeoAlDktbFVYeJXzgDXV3Oz3oq8WHbtmvQmC29-IA6Fx0fOYt8jqdQR1xTFDz_tugLa1wA7DdO-BsWpkiYg-0XHcUYEjXococcIOmaHEs92cbu__7mdgPPgGlXD2gc-uMBbmRmV/s320/bigstock-Camp-Fire-At-Night-Flame-And--1821425+(1).jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b><br /></b><b>When I see the spark in their eyes, I will fan it with my energy, excitement, and education in the subject until it flames into a bonfire that will never go out.</b><br /><br />I will drive myself to be interesting and interested in what interests my students. I will be on top of my game and push myself to innovate more and be more.<br /><br />I will never let a filing cabinet of lesson plans determine what is next. I will take every lesson and add one innovative element and do ONE thing differently.<br /><br />I will take the lessons that I know bore students and <b>MAKE THEM BETTER.</b><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFgSaA0qL6M5z5aoaGK66Sl8PmxkMS_PoTnI1b87CvXVwCWxtbyqlh0bvKuYCbwW6AUqNk_yKRtFN6yCsywk1MzIQatKw4jZ2PYDYcbXU6io5Xg3CSlGl8-4aCeiJ0yZ3xKslalxOzpJpI/s1600/bigstock-Six-Students-Running-Away-From-3917395.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFgSaA0qL6M5z5aoaGK66Sl8PmxkMS_PoTnI1b87CvXVwCWxtbyqlh0bvKuYCbwW6AUqNk_yKRtFN6yCsywk1MzIQatKw4jZ2PYDYcbXU6io5Xg3CSlGl8-4aCeiJ0yZ3xKslalxOzpJpI/s320/bigstock-Six-Students-Running-Away-From-3917395.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />I will take those lessons that get students EXCITED and figure out what it is about those lessons and<b> DO THAT MORE.</b><br /><br />I'm not here to <b>ENTERTAIN </b>or <b>BABYSIT</b>, I'm here to <b>EDUCATE</b>, <b>ENGAGE </b>and <b>EXCITE </b>them about learning.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66q8rDmKk16ZDEwuJqhIHDUxAitz8a5yrnSqPqEIg5R40fEPIhK03QhVtACu25RVUTNPKKGC5jRbPGO8MZj2hUanVB6Vw7mRmANWLRmfnFcL4i9KcuS4WpmtF5hH2y7mkQIPIKgp52tYZ/s1600/bigstock-Will-you-choose-I-am-a-Winner--21747167.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66q8rDmKk16ZDEwuJqhIHDUxAitz8a5yrnSqPqEIg5R40fEPIhK03QhVtACu25RVUTNPKKGC5jRbPGO8MZj2hUanVB6Vw7mRmANWLRmfnFcL4i9KcuS4WpmtF5hH2y7mkQIPIKgp52tYZ/s320/bigstock-Will-you-choose-I-am-a-Winner--21747167.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />I will gamify my classroom and allow them to <b>LEVEL up their learning</b> in ways that give <b>HONEST praise</b> for ACHIEVEMENTS earned and an <b>understanding of FAILURE</b> that it is part of the learning journey, not a dead end. I will never give <b>false praise</b> or let kids lie in thinking that they are failing when they are learning. I will never say a child is learning when they are just taking up space. <b>Honesty is part of what I do.</b> Students and teachers trust my word and integrity so when I speak, everyone knows it is out of a sincere heart.<br /><br />My classroom will be <b>a safe place</b> of mutual respect, common sense, and discipline. It won't feel like a toboggan ride down a virgin hillside, but an intentional trek on a <b>journey of discovery</b>.<br /><br />When I see the spark, I'll see the possibility another flame has begun.<br />When I see my students hurry to class, I'll know I've won. <br />When they are so <b>excited </b>that they are teaching me and each other more than I'm teaching them, I'll know I'm done.<br /><br />They have been captivated and are becoming captivating teachers themselves.<br />I don't make students, I inspire teachers, leaders, and thinkers to make themselves more.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzu74bf502lEiAbz91QXmxj1Vymuzv22bjwrwrxfffissR2dAVB9ap1r9lygEE80e_fBEukVPkB31my0UsvFnvmWG8Uemxu3neDtjtSG9Kf2HGPbmBucYmIZygeBNcmW0gzC-7lOpXL_4a/s1600/bigstock-Hand-Raised-Among-Others-Hands-4275615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzu74bf502lEiAbz91QXmxj1Vymuzv22bjwrwrxfffissR2dAVB9ap1r9lygEE80e_fBEukVPkB31my0UsvFnvmWG8Uemxu3neDtjtSG9Kf2HGPbmBucYmIZygeBNcmW0gzC-7lOpXL_4a/s320/bigstock-Hand-Raised-Among-Others-Hands-4275615.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />I don't make copies in school, I make <b>originals</b>.<br />My students aren't numbers, they are individuals.<br /><br />Each one has a unique mystique that I will use to pique their interest in a personalized way.<br /><br />While I teach among fantastic teachers, I have to teach like I'm the only <b>excited, professional</b> teacher that they will see all day. Not every teacher relates to every student. I will fall flat on some of them, but  I will work at being captivating, I am the only classroom I can control. I am the only teacher teaching this subject this year.<br /><br />Being captivating starts with lighting my own fire of learning, love, and longing every day.<br />I will <b>learn something</b> new every day.<br />I will <b>love </b>my students.<br />I will long to be the teacher who doesn't give up, gives all she has, and gives kids <b>hope </b>for their future.<br /><br />I will capture my own negative attitudes, trite platitudes, and wobbly incertitudes and turn them into<br />grateful <b>gratitude</b>, unstoppable <b>aptitude</b>, and a determined <b>mood </b>as I<br />and conclude that <b>my students will not delude me or elude me</b>!<br /><br />I will do whatever it takes to <b>reach </b>them, <b>teach </b>them, and <b>touch </b>them.<br />They are made in God's image and deserve my <b>respect</b>. I will be the <b>captivating</b>, <b>loving</b>, <b>unstopping </b>teacher that I want my own children to have.<br /><br />My classroom isn't about me, my convenience, or my own way - it is about my <b>students</b>. It is always about my students.<br /><br />I don't expect them to love me. I don't yearn for popularity. I want a <b>reputation</b>. A reputation for being <b>fair</b>, for loving my <b>subject </b>and for <b>loving </b>them.<br /><br />They are children and I am an adult. I have <b>control </b>over my emotions and can choose my response to life. I'll flee any lunchroom, locker room, or teacher's room that zaps my <b>energy </b>and <b>attitude </b>with negativity.<br /><br />I'll pray every day and look for new ways to reach these kids.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkND2fTgvwRa5kOlVCgs3PoQOGn3_HEEl2pYppsmG2YqK7RnVcDnsrHPmsJl4-DMVzECF06t8b5FuEoxmC-ewUXTApjlh4wGU_TZwGzmsTIBHKr6_rzmPg8MN-6rJb2w-bgn4BGuMfgKxH/s1600/bigstock-Student-collage-27335630.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkND2fTgvwRa5kOlVCgs3PoQOGn3_HEEl2pYppsmG2YqK7RnVcDnsrHPmsJl4-DMVzECF06t8b5FuEoxmC-ewUXTApjlh4wGU_TZwGzmsTIBHKr6_rzmPg8MN-6rJb2w-bgn4BGuMfgKxH/s320/bigstock-Student-collage-27335630.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />These precious students are mine<br />I'll <b>love </b>them all the time<br />To <b>teach </b>them things they couldn't<br />and lots of things they wouldn't<br />have ever done without me,<br />a teacher, the modern <b>nobility</b>.<br /><br /><br /><br />Photo Credits: <a href="http://www.bigstockphoto.com/download/bid-1435357/" target="_blank">Big Stock</a>, used under license. No permission for reuse.<br /><br /><div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"><a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/?px" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_c.png?x-id=efaba677-cacd-487a-9fc5-77e453a4dac7" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div>

The Captivating Teacher Manifesto

I want to be captivating. I want to entrance students with my subject. I want students fascinated to walk into my classroom. I am the teache...

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