Why did you pick that tag line?

Think of an awful teacher.

I’ll bet most people reading this had a specific memory pop instantly into their head. Some experiences with teachers are awful because of something they personally did – like the teacher that told me to stop reading New Scientist or I would never have any friends. But some teachers seem like perfectly nice people that just aren’t very good at their job.

I was afraid of becoming one of those teachers. No, I was afraid of being one of those teachers. That there was some essential quality called “Good at Teaching”, and if you didn’t have that innate spark you would suck forever.

Thankfully, over the last few years I have been able to recognise this perspective for what it is: a) a classic case of ex-gifted child perfectionism, and b) totally unrealistic. We all have within us the potential for growth and improvement. We just have to learn to take it.

So when I start teaching, I will be a flawed and imperfect teacher. I will make mistakes. I will fail to manage my classroom for every minute of every lesson. I will confuse my students, and bore them, and make them think I am an idiot. But that will not be all that I am. I will also nurture, engage and inspire. And every minute of every day will be an opportunity to improve. And that’s what my blog’s tag line is supposed to remind me of.