Five Minute Friday: Learn

This week the topic for the Five Minute Friday link-up post is learn. What is a link-up? Essentially a link-up is when you join other bloggers and write on a similar topic. You share your blog posts with one another and begin conversations via a host site. You can head over to Kate Motaung’s page to check out other entries from inspired bloggers. Here’s my five minutes of uninterrupted, unedited writing on this week’s topic:

As a teacher, I have committed myself to life-long learning. My career isn’t about knowing the answers to everything. It is about figuring out how to continuously learn and to challenge myself to creatively seek after knowledge day after day. When I first began teaching I felt like I needed to have an answer for every question that my students posed, but as my experience in the classroom is growing I have learned to say, “I don’t know” when a student stumps me. This statement used to make me uncomfortable. When I was a first and second year teacher admitting that I didn’t have an answer to a question made me feel inadequate, but now I have learned to finish that statement with, “but I will help you find out the answer.” I’ve learned to take those moments as opportunities to model learning. I walk through the process of research or inquiry with students and they truly appreciate my willingness to take the time to answer their questions. It’s unrealistic to think that anyone can know all there is to know about a subject, and sometimes students think of the coolest and most mind-provoking questions that I’ve never thought of myself. I once dreaded admitting that I wasn’t a walking library on World History or English, but now I embrace each chance I have to become a learner right along with my students. I’m a strong proponent of the saying, “You should learn something new everyday.” What have you learned today?

Don’t be afraid to admit that you don’t know everything!