There is nothing quite like sitting down and reading a really good book. I enjoy reading all sorts of different books, and have been reading for as long as I can remember, though less so since I've come to college. To recharge my batteries as a teacher, I decided that I should read inspirational books about teaching. On a whim, I picked up abook on this topic: "Why I teach: Inspirational True Stories From Teachers Who Make a Difference" written by Esther Wright, M.A. I decided to read inspirational books about teaching because I think that the reason many teachers get burned out is that they get caught up in the negative part about teaching: the constant struggle with the students, lesson planning, grading, feeling unappreciated, etc. Reading these stories will remind me why I want to be a teacher, and the affect that I want to have the my students lives. Instead of being bogged down by the negatives, inspirational reading will keep me focused on my goal and give me energy as a teacher.
Because I needed to develop a plan for recharging my batteries and staying physically, spiritually, professionally, and mentally energized I decided to read a portion of this book every week. Through observations, I am currently at the High School for about 5+ hours each week. For this reason, I think that a good strategy is to have a weekly way to recharge and remember why I want to be a teacher. Because each of these books is split up into short stories, it was easy to read a story or two each week. I had originally planned to share several of the stories that really inspired me or that I really connected with, but that is not possible. The "Why I Teach" book was full of inspiring stories. From extremely poor kindergartners to a 50 year old women taking college classes to get a teaching degree, this book covers a broad variety of students and teachers. Each story is inspiring in its own way and covers difficult topics such as death and Tourettes Syndrome. It is impossible to simply sum up the lives of the students and teachers described here. Only the lessons, which are that love, compassion, and passion can lead to amazing experiences where both the students and teacher's lives are touched forever. Reading this book every week left me excited to begin my career as a teacher and to start pouring myself into my students. Unfortunately, none of the stories in this book were about high school Math teachers, which only serves to inspire me to create my own.
Since I finished the book, I picked up a second inspirational book entitled: "Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul: Stories to Open the Hearts and Rekindle the Spirits of Educators" by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, which I will use to recharge my battery, and stay motivated to teach.
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