My wife, also a teacher, and I decided a long time to live in the community in which we teach. Many teacher friends of our chose not to do this...which is okay. It really is a personal preference. Some people would rather their teacher lives and personal lives to be separate.
What are the advantages to living in the community that we teach?
We support the community that our kids live in.
We enjoy seeing our kids around town.
We get to run into past students from many years ago and check in with them.
We know the true world of our students.
We also have many past students that have friended us on Social Media. Again, this allows us to stay in touch with past students. We are proud of who they are and we get inspired by their life's journeys.
Today, we stopped in a local restaurant to pick up some food and we saw several past students. They were of different ages and very different circles when they were in Middle School, but they found each other and have become close. They all called over to us to come talk.
I love when past and present students want to share their life journey with me in the real world. It fills my cup and allows me to see a true impact that I have as a teacher. It inspires me to continue teaching and reaching students. The human connection is such a wonderful positive consequence of being a teacher and living in the students' world.
Be Mindful.
Peace.
Mark Levine
#Mindfulliteracy
@LevineWrites
I love living in the community where I taught. Connections with kids is so important, and what better way to see them outside of the classroom.
ReplyDeleteI'm reading this while watching former students play in a basketball tournament. Being here means something to them...and to me!
ReplyDeleteI love keeping in touch with my students too. Whether it is stopping in at school to see me, sending me a message, or asking to get together for lunch, it is always a joy.
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