Why YOU matter much more than you think...

Educators are constantly using their energy and resources on others.  Their students are their number one priority, and consequently educators are always filling the buckets of others.  Educators dedicate their lives to the development and growth of others...but wait, who fills the buckets of educators?  Who is there to tell the educators they are doing a great job, and if they need anything somebody will always be there to help?  That is where I come in...I want to remind all educators how important they are, and why what they do is so much more important than they might think.
 
- You are a role model... Educators spend 7 hours a day being a role model by exhibiting a professional demeanor that oozes responsibility and accountability.  Always acting ethically and morally, educators by default have a huge impact on student character and development.  Everything we do throughout the course of the day is under the microscope, and because of that we have the power to be a positive, influential and everlasting role model impacting the lives of children...

- You are a leader... Educators very rarely see themselves as leaders, but I can not think of many other professions that put somebody in a leadership position on a daily basis with such a large diverse group of people.  The 100 or more students you see every day are looking for a leader, and every day you have the opportunity to be that leader for them...

- You teach organizational skills... Educators teach students to be prepared for class, to take responsibility for turning in assignments, and to complete an assortment of tasks.  As a result, educators are constantly teaching students about organization.  Organizational skills are perhaps one of the most important skills we help students develop...

- You can ruin their day, or make their day... By your positive attitude and by caring you hold the key to making a student's day a good day, or a bad day.  There are so many things that happen during the course of the school day, but by being respectful and caring you can help make every day a good day...

- You spend more time with them than some parents... This is another part of education most educators don't realize.  Because of sports and jobs there are students who spend very little time with their parents during the week, consequently we have a much greater influence and impact on our students than we think.  Be aware of this, and use it to your advantage to provide the necessary structure in life that a student needs...

- You help them understand who they are... Over the course of a school year educators and students experience a lot of different situations.  Every situation in which a student is involved, helps to shape his/her understanding of his/herself.  By being an educator and by being a part of that experience, we naturally play an important role in helping students understand who they are...

- You can motivate and inspire, or deflate and discourage... Your passion and love for education can ignite a fire in your students.  In contrast, your lack of passion and boredom toward education can extinguish any fire way before you even have a chance to motivate or inspire your students.  I am an educator because of my former German teacher, Matt Maier.  Inspiring and motivating is something you do, just by doing your job...    

- You don't just teach them, you educate them... Teaching is one thing, educating is something completely different.  Anybody can teach somebody something, but it takes a special person to educate somebody. Teaching is temporary and contained, while educating is forever and limitless.  You have the ability and power to not just teach your students, but rather educate your students and prepare them to be self-sufficient, responsible, lifelong learners who were impacted and influenced by YOU!!