This is the final one of my weekly posts regarding the Internet for Educators course that I am taking. This week I had the pleasure of listening to the thoughts of guest speaker Dean Shareski, on the topic of bringing joy into teaching. This is a fantastic topic, and aligns quite well with my teaching philosophy. I love bringing joy to the classroom in any way possible. I do this through humour and my many dad jokes that are often received with eye-rolls. I also like to have fun in the classroom, and make learning a comfortable thing to do for students, rather than a very formalized task. I find that if the teacher appears to be enjoying themselves, and it is clear that they value learning, then the students are more likely to show interest in the subject. I believe that bringing joy to learning can also help with classroom management, since students that appreciate the teacher will often respect the teacher more, and be willing to behave in class. This is why you will rarely catch me having a bad day. I am always in a good mood. Seriously, I challenge any one of my classmates reading this to ruin my day. It is impossible, and you will not succeed. All that will happen is I will smile at your unsuccessful attempts, which will further fuel my good mood.
In all seriousness, Dean gave an excellent and uplifting presentation which helped show young teachers how to have fun at work. It was also a very reflective presentation, with many questions such as: What does delight mean to you? Or What brings you delight in school? I would hope that everyone has at least one response to these questions, or that is a bit of a red flag for your upcoming professional career. Being happy at work is a good indicator that you are in the right career. I spent several years in a career that did not make me very happy. There were various extrinsic motivators, such as wealth and prestige that pushed me as far as I went, but the intrinsic motivators were at a real deficit. I did not feel good at the end of the day, and as positive of a person as I am, I was starting to lose my cheer. Now, I come home each day with something positive on my mind, and optimism for tomorrow. Teaching is a profession that works well for me, and it is a place where my good mood can become contagious to others. My advice for everyone: do what you enjoy as a career. If you are happy with what you are doing, you will be good at it, which will lead to a successful life.
I will end this post with one of my favorite dad jokes to use in a high school setting, particularly related to chemistry. I will often write this on the board at the start of class when I am substitute teaching, and students love it. Honestly, a few of my jokes have been complete duds, but this one has not let me down yet. It always brings out smiles. Here it is:
Daniel, it encourages me to know that there are other teachers out there who want to bring joy to their classrooms. What brings me joy is seeing a student learn something new for the first time and get excited about it. I also love it when a student draws you a piece of artwork and gives it to you with the biggest smile on their face! That helps bring me joy in teaching! Thanks for sharing your dad jokes! They brought a smile to my face. Best of luck to you in your final placement and your quest to find your very own classroom to teach in the fall.
ReplyDeleteHi Daniel! thank you for sharing. I enjoyed reading your blog. I can read your enthuisam throughout your blog. I am glad to read that you will be bringing joy to your classroom. we as educators need to bring more joy our classrooms. I also enjoyed your dad joke at the end. I admire your confidence to write a joke on the board. that is one of my biggest fears, saying a joke and no-one laughs haha...again, great post! I enjoyed reading and good luck in your future career.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your jokes with us, they definitely made me laugh! IT is so true that we need to have teachers that enjoy what they are doing so that the classroom can be a joyful place. I think though that this often get associated with early years. There is often a lot of joy and enthusiasm brought into early years classrooms, which is great but I would love to see more at the middle and senior year levels.
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