Seven Reasons Why We Are Educators: Reason 4- Learning Continual (268)

An educator’s mind is one that is inquisitive and hungry. In constant search of the next meal. The next morsel of technology to devour. The next nugget of honesty from a fellow teacher. We want to hear about what works and what does not- but more importantly why. Why should we invest, why should we listen?

There are hundreds of voices that reach us daily. Thousands if we are active on social media. Whose posts do you actually read? Whose do you recognize, yet occasionally pause to absorb? How often do we miss a post or Tweet? We are bombarded with feeds and our minds have to select, filter, ignore.

Like with all stimulus, our minds respond to those that trigger our senses. As educators we have such a pull towards knowledge. We gobble it up like a treat our psyches have been craving. We read, we watch, we listen. We look for solutions. We solve problems. We tear down barriers. We build mile high pedestals on which our students can stand to see their potential.

We know what it means to be curious and adventurous. We feel the excitement of something fast and furious and brace for the ride. We hesitate, we might even avoid- but then after we ponder, we seek. We actively hunt, comb though, scout and dragnet.

We let fall to the wayside things that do not provide benefit. We are anthropologists, sociologists, and novelists. For every day we observe, collect data, analyze situations and experiences, and ultimately write our playbook.

Learning is to lean within a ring. To lean into possibility, lean on our community of fellow educators and to lean away from things that do not work. We know our students and choose wisely. There is a ring, a giant circle of trust that we build around us. That our colleagues often venture inside of, but that our students are welcomed into.

This orbit is the crux of our comfort level. Those that sync are our lifeline. This is why we get on social media, attend professional development- because the more information we have, the more informed decisions we can make. As educators we like to be informed. We crave information.

So why are we educators- because we are lifelong learners. We are customers of the late-night diner, the drive-thru so we can get back to our work. We are active participants and ultimately, we are bearers of change. Emissaries of growth. Our grotto’s might be personal-sized, but our caverns of collaboration are vast.