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 assortments 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!!