Celebrating Failure in Rm 613

While many people believe that the best educators earn respect with grand gestures, Aaron Hogan disproves this final myth in the sixth chapter of Shattering the Perfect Teacher Myth . He insists respect and rapport from students is gained through everyday interactions and gives simple ideas to implement every day. Its so simple. You don't have to do anything crazy, invest a ton of money, or take away from family time. You just need to do a few tiny things every day that show students that you care. As someone who is not the insanely outgoing and goofy teacher who has no fear, I appreciate that the 'little' things matter. I always try to be proud of my reserved manner and find beauty in it, but I still find myself beating myself up for not being the crazy, energetic that the myth requires. My three thing I plan to add into my every day schedule: Greeting students at the door - Hogan discussed how a daily routine or question will help you notice irregularities. A gree...

For me, my favorite chapter of Aaron Hogan's  Shattering the Perfect Teacher Myth was Chapter 5: Valuing Vulnerability. He focuses on destroying the myth that the best teachers have all the answers, which is definitely one that I battle with every day. In fact, if you look back to the first time I did a project-based unit I struggled with my role changing from a 'sage on the stage' to a 'guide on the side': "By the end of the project, I was surprised at how much they were getting out of the project that didn’t involve me directly teaching. As self-centered as that sounds, its true. I grew up with teachers that stood up and directly explained information...it worried me that maybe the students didn’t learn anything from the research, but I know from their passionate conversations, presentations, and eagerness to complete the project that they did get something meaningful out of it. ( Original Post )" As I read through the chapter, I couldn't ...

The fourth myth busted by Aaron Hogan in Shattering the Perfect Teacher Myth is that perfect teachers excel by meeting existing expectations. He challenges you to dream and rethink long-held ideas. Favorite Quote from the Imagine it Better Chapter. Every year I like to reconsider how I can design and organize my classroom. Last year, I mostly focused on tying everything in the classroom together with a clean, finished look. I got rid of a lot of the clutter and focused on simplifying the overall design.  For whatever reason, my focus this year is the lighting in the classroom this year. My classroom is notoriously dark; most of the fluorescent lights are off with maybe one off on the side. I keep the blinds shut because of the glare it causes for the project as well as the screens of students nearby. Fun fact: never realized that darker lighting means students can dim their screens and save their battery power.So many times, it ends up being much darker than I really ...

When I was little, my dream job was a meteorologist. I envisioned myself being a weather-girl/storm chaser that studied all the crazy weather phenomenon, mostly inspired by the movie Twister. My vision was set until my sister attended a college fair and got information for me about becoming a meteorologist. I realized that studying weather was more science and technical focused and less social and relationships. As a person who thrives on social interactions, I realized that maybe meteorology wasn't for me. While nerding out to my mom about something I learned in AP Biology, she suggested that I become a teacher; I enjoyed learning and talking with people about what I learned. Long story short: I became a teacher and it was the best decision for me. This is why the third chapter in Aaron Hogan 's Shattering the Perfect Teacher Myth  struck such a chord with me: teaching is inherently social. It is so easy to isolate yourself as a teacher, but that isolation can cause you...

The teacher myth buster, aka Aaron Hogan , continues on in Chapter 2 by busting the myth that the best teachers effortlessly earn compliance from their students . Unlike the "no behavior problem" myth, this was one that I believed as a new teacher, but I no longer believe. Before any teaching experience, I envied teachers that seemed to quickly build strong and positive relationships with students. Eventually, I learned that student rapport is like any other relationship; it takes time and effort to build a positive relationship. Hogan's recommendation to thrive is to hook your students throughout the entire year and I appreciated that his solution wasn't do-this-and-your-classroom-will-be-instantly-awesome . He encourages you to reflect and "take time to identify those core values that will set the right tone for your school year." He also suggests redesigning one aspect of your classroom and reflecting on it every few weeks. At the Model Scho...

Shattering the Perfect Teacher Myth by @aaron_hogan During the school year, one thing that goes by the wayside is reading for fun. I love to read but its not always compatible with my exhaustion and lack of free time so my summers include a decent amount of reading. One book I chose was Shattering the Perfect Teacher Myth by Aaron Hogan . Besides seeing my Twitter PLN raving about it, it also falls in line with the whole purpose of my blog; embracing all imperfections and failures that occur. Despite the advice at the beginning of the book, I read through it in one sitting. But I didn't have a choice; it was so incredibly relatable and intriguing. Aaron Hogan brings up so many truths that go against go against every myth that I have been guilty of believing and he offers numerous ideas and suggestions to embed these truths into your mindset and classroom. But because I ignored Hogan's advice to read through the book at a methodical pace, I most likely missed out on some ...