The Power of Looking Silly (and Not Caring that You Do)

Today is my 21st first day of school as a teacher.

This is the first time--to my memory--that I didn't have the back-to-school nightmares. I mentioned this to my wife this morning, and she (jokingly) said that means that things will go awful today. (She was joking...but we'll see, I guess. Not that I'm superstitious or anything...)

The truth is, I do worry about my teaching practice. I want to be the best that I can be! I want my students to learn, and to even enjoy my classes. And, seriously, I want to enjoy my classes too. And I usually do, even though I recognize my tendencies toward worrying.

And it's in those worrying times that I sometimes need some encouragement, some recognition that I'm doing all right.

A long-time friend shared this one with me via Facebook a couple weeks ago:

Image shared by Teacher Goals.

This friend knows me well--and I taught her three kids when they were in middle school. I was honored that she took the time to share it; I take this as a high compliment, honestly.

When she sent it, I was serving at Royal Family Kids Camp for the fourth summer in a row. I love this camp so much; we serve kids in the foster care system, giving them an amazing camp experience and loving them for no other reason than the fact that they are intrinsically lovable. The role I play at camp is to be the clown. At camp, I'm definitely silly, and I'd like to think that it's an important part of what makes it "camp" for the kids and the staff alike: we try to not take ourselves too seriously.

And, really, that's what I strive for in my classroom too. I will always take the WORK very seriously. But I try to not take MYSELF too seriously.

The longer I've taught, the more I've learned to just be myself in the classroom. And while I still have plenty of room to grow--I do still worry plenty--I think that this is part of what makes things come together in my classroom. I'm a little silly, and I let my geeky side show. I guess it's my hope that by letting my true (silly) self show, I might bring some joy to my students' learning, and to my teaching as well.

So here's to looking silly, and not caring that I do! Time to head to class...