Want to or Have to?
Many of us think of our jobs as a "have to". What a difference it would make in our daily lives if we could think about working as a "want to"! Well, we all work in education, which should make the transition really easy. How wonderful is it to think that you have made a positive difference in someone's life? And, if we do our jobs well, we can accomplish something toward that end every day -- a real reason to want to come to work and to do our best.
We truly do CHANGE LIVES...what a great WANT TO!
We have a photo in our orientation room that displays the statement "We change student lives everyday." It has become a statement that all employees are embracing and trying to follow on a daily basis.
I must admit it; there are just some days that I do not want to come to work. I just don't feel like being here. And it is on those days that a student will come in with a problem and needs someone to listen; or comes in excited because they did well on an exam; or just pops their head in the door with a bright "hello". It is then that everything comes together and the why I am here makes such good sense!
What you really do is "Change Lives" and each time you think of that it empowers you to have an "Intelligent Heart."
My best,
Joe
I was just thinking this week about winning the lottery. I feel that I would still "want to" come to work because I enjoy teaching and helping students. Helping others is the most satisfying work. I don't play the lottery so I won't win!
Research shows that true passion for your profession is when you can say you would do what you do even for nothing.
It looks like you've got it!
Congratulations!!!!
Joe
Honestly, I want to work with this student population. While they can be challenging at times, I want to make a difference with the student. I had numerous teachers who made that difference for me and I want to give back. So while my "giving back" might take the form of a hostile and upset student, or working with another department to get that student straight and off a hold, its all an attitude of "want to."
Just having one experience of a student walking across the stage at graduation thanking me for making the difference is a reminder that I want to work with these students. I keep that grad picture in my desk as a reminder of why I do what I do and why I take alot of deep breaths and remember to laugh :)
I agree , a small change in one's perspective can equal a big change in their ability to perform and enjoy their job . At that point , it becomes a win/win situation for the employee , the employer , and the students .
This change in thinking makes a huge difference in one's daily lives. For me, I am at the point in my life referenced in a book I read a few years ago called "Half Time." It speaks to our desire in the first half of our career to attain success. We then want the second half to be about significance, or making a difference in the world in which we live. The role I have with my current position gives me that. And it is a joy to wake up every day knowing that I can do something that allows me to give someone else a chance to change their life and the lives of their loved ones by preparing for a new career. It makes all the difference.
I believe we truly change lives one student at a time. We are in the "Mental Health" business as well. Also, nearly 75 percent of most Career College students are the first in their family to attend college...they need us as models and mentors. We truly are fortunate to be in this business of changing lives.
I look forward to going to class. Something I call " lighting lightbulbs" when a cartoon figure gets a idea, you see a lightbulb above their heads. I look forward to lighting that bulb above my students head, and knowing they "got it". It makes my day.
I know exactly what you mean about "the lightbulb". As I'm going through the lecture and I use stories or analagies to describe something, I look out at the class and see the bulbs come on, I realize that it's all worth while. My "want-to" and "have-to's" have intersected.
It also holds true the more you want to, the less you have to. It makes what we do fun keeps things new and fresh. We feel motivated by our actions. The more we do the more our student will want to do.
The Teachable Moment is like getting a pay check for some teachers. There is nothing like that light bulb moment.
I0s think the Teachable Moment lies with us all. Sometimes we think it about students only, but it is about everyone who connects in an organization. I was reminded of this last week when we held an event called "Connecting to Communities." This was a thank you for presenters who came out to speak to students taking Human Services. These were unique individuals from agencies, parents of children with disabilities, even one person who lived during the 1960s when it was unheard off for a child with Down Syndrome to be on a bus with a parent. What a Teachable Moment for us all.
We all have those moments. "The teacher appears when the student is ready."
Everyday, on my way to work, I think about something I look forward to covering with my class, something I WANT TO talk about. I find that on days when I am really excited to go to work, everything just seems to "work better". The students get more out of the class, and my job becomes easier.
Andrew,
I can't believe that you don't have something that you "want to" talk about everyday. I have found that sometimes what I "want to" talk about has really nothing to do with the subject matter, but it gets the blood flowing and the energy started for me. I somehow always find a way to link the subject matter back to the story at the beginning of the class.
My theory of work is that you have to love your job and what is accomplished everyday in order to be successful in life. This makes everyday enjoyable and makes you love what you do for people. Be it as the GOOD SAMARITAN.
