These are 5 Myths About Great Elementary Teachers that you may be holding on to. After reading this blog post, your perspective on what great teachers do in elementary school will adjust.
MYTH #1- Great elementary teachers always have cute, heavily decorated classrooms.
An elementary teacher’s classroom should support student learning. A lot of times teachers may think cutesy decorations will make a difference.
The questions to ask yourself is, how is this material serving my students?
A classroom that is aesthetically pleasing to the eye is nice. However, just because your classroom is heavily decorated doesn’t guarantee it will make a difference.
An elementary classroom that is print rich, materials are accessible to students, and fosters a sense of independence in students is what is most valuable. Print rich meaning that everything in the classroom is labeled.
A classroom that serves students also includes, interactive word walls, learning stations or centers, and a classroom library of diverse authors.
MYTH #2-Great elementary teachers do not have or deal with difficult students.
I was reading an article years back about a teacher that had one many awards and was one of the top teachers in her state.
She talked about how when she went back to teaching; she had a student that was difficult for her to handle.
This difficult student made her realize that students don’t care what awards you’ve gotten or how great of a teacher you think you are.
You still need to build relationships with students, manage difficult behaviors and continue to master your craft. Don’t forget to get your free ultimate guide to mastering your craft.
If you’re having trouble with difficult students you can check out the episode, 5 secrets to deal with difficult students. Your approach to handle difficult students is what matters.
MYTH #3-The most experienced elementary teachers are great teachers.
Yes, experience does help a lot when it comes to teaching but if you have a lot of experience and never learn new knowledge and skills in teaching; your experience will become irrelevant.
For example, schools had to switch to remote learning and everyone had to adjust. If you’re a teacher that never used technology in your classroom then the change would be that much more difficult for you.
John Maxwell said it best “Experience is not the best teacher, evaluated experience is the best teacher.”
MYTH #4-If you’re a great elementary teacher, you don’t need to improve on anything.
When you get to a certain level as a teacher, you may feel like you have everything under control and there is nothing that you need to improve.
As you become a great teacher, innovation and trying new things in your classroom will lead to the need for more feedback and improvement.
MYTH #5-Great elementary teachers know everything when it comes to teaching and their subject matter.
It is impossible to know everything about your area of teaching. You can always learn and grow and get better over time.
The expectation to know everything is unrealistic. I struggle with this but I have to remind myself that the point of growth and learning is that we get new knowledge about the things we don’t know, so don’t be so hard on yourself about knowing everything.
What are some myths that you need to let go of as an elementary teacher? Leave a comment below.