Monday, March 10, 2014

10/31 What Can I Do Besides Teach?




Back on the first day of March, I read a post that has had me thinking and jotting things in my notebook ever since. It was Susan at Underconstruction. In her post, she wrote that as a young teacher, she went to a temp agency one summer to find a job. The man asked her, "What can you do besides teach?" At the time, she didn't think she could do anything else. Now she says she would answer that she can do anything because she teaches.

Anyway, this slice got me thinking.

What can I do besides teach?  This is exactly the kind of things I like to write--lists that answer a question. Much like my authority lists that I have students write....

So here it is, my list of things I can do besides teach....


I can WRITE:
blog posts
news articles
directions
book reviews
tweets
Facebook posts
emails
letters of recommendation

I can LISTEN to:
questions
concerns 
speeches 
stories
problems
nonsense
music
laughter
crying

I can TALK about:
politics
education
dogs
TV
books
nonsense

  • I can rearrange furniture
  • I can bake
  • I can hang up on telemarketers
  • I can paint trailers and rooms in homes
  • I can take pictures
  • I can play with dogs
  • I can babysit grandkids
  • I can use sarcasm effectively
  • I am a master shopper
I'm feeling pretty good about this right now.  But I know I will add to the list. How about you? What can you do besides teach?




9 comments:

  1. Love this, Deb! I won't answer your question now, but I'm bookmarking this to write my own post in the future! :-)

    The "listen" section was my favorite! <3

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  2. This is great - and we teachers all need to remember how many things we can do! "I can use sarcasm effectively" is making me smile right now.

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  3. Your title struck me because there are days where teaching is hard and making decisions for others is something I would like to take a break from. You've made me realize there are other options I could do, that I can do because I teach. And for me, these would probably all lead me back to teaching.

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  4. This kind of reminded me of Taylor Mali's response to "What do you make?" I love the listen to nonsense (some days more than others.)

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  5. Somewhere I read a huge list of all that a teacher is and does. Loved your list! Will have to answer that question myself - especially as I have retired!

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  6. Love that you made a list too, Deb, & you also should keep it close for those weird days when you wonder why you are where you are.

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  7. I love the way you organized this list. You make teaching sound poetic! Isn't it empowering to reflect on this question? I'm looking forward to reading others' answers!

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  8. This is cool and not only because I love lists. I love your attitude and confidence.

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