Teachers Make Mistakes Too

I used to say to myself that, “It’s your first year. It’s okay to make mistakes.” But I never believed it. I never actually heard myself.

Why? Because of pride.

I grew up in a classroom. My mom and dad are both teachers. I grew up surrounded by people affirming me of my career choice.

I put an expectation on myself to be this amazing teacher I thought myself to be. When I didn’t achieve that in the classroom, I started over correcting or feeling ashamed.

I was HARD on myself because I knew I made a mistake and it was true. I made plenty of mistakes and several of those had real consequences.

What’s funny is…I would always ask for feedback from my co-teacher, my boss, parents, and students. I did that because I wanted to correct all of my behavior so I could meet the expectation I set for myself.

But really what I was acting in was fear. Fear of the shame and condemnation that I wo…