Teacher vs. Learner

I often wonder if veteran teachers realize that they are encouraging their learners to collect rather than connect. I use my team leader as an example often in my reflections and discussions because she tends to carry her years of experience around as a significant piece of her person. Now, I am not taking away from her devoted time to this exceedingly tough career, but classifying yourself as a teacher and a learner are two different things. In the way that she talks, she is not a learner. She feels that she has put in the time and that justifies her stance on things. I disagree. I think it would be a greater asset for her to take her years of experiences and think about how to make each of those experiences better. Her mentality of thinking that she’s done this long enough so she knows how students are taught best hinders her teaching capability. I think she just needs a mindset change to see that it’s okay to want to learn how to keep becoming a better teacher. I think this goes for many veteran teachers. Once they can embrace the fact that they are learners just like everyone else, including their own students, a mindset shift happens and a brand new world of possibilities open.