Friday, July 26, 2013

Character Trait Superpower Poster Freebie

Character Trait Superpower Poster Freebie
Back to School!

WOW! This is my 16th year as a school counselor! I am so excited! I will be in a different school this year.  I worked in middle school for 7 years and this will be my 9th year in elementary school! My job is to support teaching and learning and teachers are in the classroom everyday touching the lives of children. I pray that the teachers in my new school are filled with enthusiasm and fun learning! This will also be the first time that I have taken my own child to school with me :+) .....I have three awesome children of my own + 900 more at the school where I work :+).....and I will be taking my youngest with me this year.  SO....of course I have an EVEN more vested interest, in this year being fun....I want to honor the teachers today........



What Teachers Make by Taylor Mali
He says the problem with teachers is
What’s a kid going to learn
from someone who decided his best option in life
was to become a teacher?

He reminds the other dinner guests that it’s true
what they say about teachers:
Those who can, do; those who can’t, teach.
I decide to bite my tongue instead of his
and resist the temptation to remind the dinner guests
that it’s also true what they say about lawyers.
Because we’re eating, after all, and this is polite conversation.
I mean, you’re a teacher, Taylor.
Be honest. What do you make?
 
And I wish he hadn’t done that— asked me to be honest—
because, you see, I have this policy about honesty and ....
:

if you ask for it, then I have to let you have it.
You want to know what I make?
I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional Medal of Honor
and an A-­‐ feel like a slap in the face.
How dare you waste my time
with anything less than your very best.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall
in absolute silence. No, you may not work in groups.
No, you may not ask a question.
Why won’t I let you go to the bathroom?
Because you’re bored.
And you don’t really have to go to the bathroom, do you?

I make parents tremble in fear when I call home:
Hi. This is Mr. Mali. I hope I haven’t called at a bad time,
I just wanted to talk to you about something your son said today.
To the biggest bully in the grade, he said,
“Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don’t you?
It’s no big deal.”
And that was noblest act of courage I have ever seen.

I make parents see their children for who they are
and what they can be.
You want to know what I make? I make kids wonder,
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write.
I make them read, read, read.
I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful
over and over and over again until they will never misspell
either one of those words again.
I make them show all their work in math
and hide it on their final drafts in English.
I make them understand that if you’ve got this,
then you follow this,
and if someone ever tries to judge you
by what you make, you give them this.
Here, let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true:
Teachers make a ........difference!   Now what about you?
(Mali. Taylor. “What Teachers Make.” What Learning Leaves. Newtown, CT: Hanover Press, 2002. Print. (ISBN: 1-­887012-­17-­6) ).

Thank you for being a teacher!

Love,
Teshia