I came to an important realization this afternoon: I haven't lost my mojo. Maybe I never had it. Mojo is defined as "a magic charm, a talisman, a spell." And if you've been in this business for longer than a day, you know that it involves much more than magic. This isn't Hogwarts. If all we needed was the proper magical spell and the right flick of our wand wrist, I bet the teacher retention rate would be much higher than it currently is. It doesn't take mojo; it takes damn hard work. When I go home at the end of the night, I'm tired to the point of exhaustion. This doesn't mean I don't have magical moments. I do. But they aren't accidental. One of my students in English 2 was struggling to start her personal narrative. We held a brief writing conference during which she confided some painful memories. "Can you write about that?" I asked. She nodded. "You are so brave for telling that story," I encouraged. She smiled shyly, creating a "magical" moment that would never have happened if I didn't create the meaningful learning experience. If I chose to sit at my desk rather than walk among and talk with my students while they wrote, I would never have received that special smile. After several weeks my students are finally starting to get the hang of their Article of the Week reflections. I'm getting more valuable argument and less impassioned ranting. They are crafting careful responses and showing more evidence of active reading in the form of analytical annotations. This didn't happen because of my magnetic mojo, though; it happened because I saw weaknesses in their writing and sought out resources for mini-lessons that zeroed in on key skills. I hear stories from my sister, a second grade teacher in my district. She has a tough group of kiddos this year, kiddos who require extra time and innovative strategies. My sister is a veteran teacher with years of experience, and like me, she's wondered if she has lost her mojo. That is unequivocally not true. Instead of relying on magical charms, she's pushing herself to analyze data and provide the necessary instruction. It's not mojo; it's damn hard work. This fall our staff and students experienced training on growth mindset from Trevor Ragan of Train Ugly. Mojo seems like a fixed mindset belief. Either you have it or you don't. That's not how I view my role in the classroom. That's why every year I'm revamping units and rewriting lesson plans. It's why my writing mini-lessons vary from class to class, student to student. Honestly, that growth mindset is why I was reflecting after a low moment on Friday afternoon. Because I want to do better, because I know that there is always room for improvement. So don't worry. I won't be gone looking for my mojo. Instead I'll be working hard tonight to create a mini-lesson about sentence fragments. (Maybe followed by a glass of wine. Damn hard work sometimes deserves a reward.)
1 Comment
Greg Stevens
10/4/2016 11:05:50 am
Great writing! I envy your ability to communicate with words. Teaching is hard work and energy draining.
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