So…. I bought another domain. I know. 8 days till I’m due and I’m starting ANOTHER thing? Why not?
I’ve been trying to figure out what my “superpower” is but it has been a struggle. Not so much knowing what it is, but trying to deny what it is. Teaching is more and more a struggle for me and I have a feeling that the issues I have will follow me anywhere. It boils down to who I am as a teacher and unless I go back to middle school, which I don’t want to do, then it is just going to be a battle.
Today while walking Sunshine I was listening to the Goal Digger Podcast. I really like her stuff! Jenna Kutcher was talking with Natalis Ellis who is one of the founders of BossBabe. I can’t really tell you a whole lot about the podcast because at some point I started thinking and was really pondering some topics.
Teaching is my superpower. Maybe I need to change where I teach. Like, not in a school but someplace else, something else. I posted on the Goal Digger Facebook group the other day looking for ideas of side hustles I could start and a lot of people gave me ideas to think about. Even just responding to them got me thinking.
I get excited about teaching when I can brainstorm crazy ideas to try in the classroom. When I’m working to create some neat things. I get my best ideas when collaborating with teachers who are also excited about the same things. For example, just before Winter Break in Chemistry class we had a week to a week and a half where we were done with a unit but didn’t want to start the next one until after break. One of the teachers I collaborate with for chemistry and I discussed doing some fun activities that maybe touched on skills we hadn’t covered, review some we had, and introduce some topics that we would go over after break. We came up with a Who-dunnit of Whoville! It was so much fun. There was a break in at the bakery in Whoville and students had to work to solve the mystery. In the end we all ate cookies and it was great.
Things like that get me excited. It wasn’t perfect. If we do it again there are some changes that need to be made. But I get excited and can spend hours working on projects like that. I made a digital escape room for the solar eclipse in 2018? The entire thing revolved around learning about eclipses while revolving around the story of Chicken Little.
This year my excitement has been limited. The amount of collaboration isn’t as much as is needed to get me really excited. The current state of the world of education is providing some great opportunities to collaborate and do some amazing things, but… yeah. So I thought long and hard on my walk today.
The job postings I’ve been most excited about in the past is roles in which I could work with other teachers and help them brainstorm and implement ideas. I’ve applied for one or two and have been passed over for someone already in the building. I get it, they know the people and are already aligned with the building goals. Recently something along those lines was posted for the building I’m in now but I decided that maybe I should wait until at least my second year in the building to apply.
So, what if I work on becoming a virtual instructional coach for teachers?! I could mix in some of the stuff I’ve created for my classes and also help other teachers try new ideas. Maybe even work with teachers to evaluate different online tools? We all need more of those right now!
So I came home, super excited! Talked to the hubby and purchased a domain. I’ll share it later when it has things but for now I will hold it and work on it in the background. And in the meantime I’m going to start trying to network with teachers who are interested in collaborating!
That’s my win for today, now to go cook dinner.