No doubt you chose a teaching career because you love to teach students and probably even enjoy learning yourself. What if I asked you, “Is there a purpose to what you are teaching?” How about, “Are you teaching with purpose?” Would you answer quickly or do you have to think about it?
Most teachers conduct their school day by going through the motions repeating lessons they taught a year ago or cram as much information as possible preparing students to pass grade-level tests. This leaves little room for “teaching with a purpose”.
A new report by Gallup says that 40% of workers in the United States are engaged in their work. In other words, 60% of the workforce does their job on a daily basis without a purpose. Think of workers building a bridge having this mindset. No one wants someone who isn’t motivated or does not see the purpose of safety building a bridge. And it is really not something anyone wants to think about. Instead, every person that crosses a bridge should feel a sense that it has a solid foundation and is acting with an exact purpose.
Teaching with Purpose
As a teacher, you are building a bridge every time you teach students new skills and concepts. Successful students are able to make connections between one skill to another, essentially laying one brick at a time. If students are merely learning skills with no meaning or purpose, then the information learned will be for nothing because it will not be retained. And what you end up with is a lot of misplaced bricks. Think of all that time wasted, not only for you as the teacher, but for the students as well.
Everything I do, I try to do it with a purpose. I’ve learned if you have a purpose for a task, it will more than likely get done. Those tasks you put off or delay are rarely tasks that are at the top ⅓ of your list, and they definitely lack a purpose.
As a teacher, you should have a strong purpose as to why you are teaching every day. If it is to just get through your lesson plans, that is simply scraping the bottom of the barrel and I bet you are frustrated. Teaching with intention and purpose… now that’s learning that will be remembered for a lifetime.
The same can be said for parents or caregivers who are homeschooling children. This week, try this simple exercise. Look in the mirror and repeat at the beginning of every day, “My purpose for teaching today is,” and then name your purpose.
Take a good look ~ you are committed to that person in the mirror to make it happen! Don’t look at imperfections. Instead, look at where you want to go. Now you are striving for a higher purpose!