My Strengths as an Educator...

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30 Day Blogging Challenge Day 15:

Day 15: Name 3 strengths you have as an educator


We are officially past the half-way point now with the blogging challenge and I am proud of myself for still blogging.  On Sept. 1, 30 days seemed like a pretty daunting task.  Now it is feeling much easier.  Of course, having ready-made prompts to reflect on is a definite plus and one that I appreciate.

But enough of that, on to the topic for the start of this week.  I have to confess, I was ready to write Day 15 Monday night and then started looking at some posts by my fellow bloggers on this journey and got quite intimidated.  Their list of strengths were colorful. They had cool visuals to go with their list.  Eeeek!  I need to do something "cool" too.  Peer pressure.  It can be horrible, but it can also motivate.  In this case, it motivated me to try something new: I made a very basic info-graphic.  Yay me!


Vision: I enjoy looking at the big picture and identifying ways to improve what we do, to be in line with what I consider to be the best educational trends and practices.  Then I enjoy getting others fired up to buy into and bring to life the vision.

Hard Working: For any educator truly committed to this career, you have to be hard working, that goes without saying.  However, I consider it a strength because I do not shy away from challenges.  There are those who reach a point where their attitude is "I've put in my time."  I can't accept that.  Education is constantly evolving and if I am going to be an effective leader, I have to keep working hard no matter how many years I have under my belt.

Fair: Perhaps I should use the more popular term--equitable--rather than fair.  Regardless, I am a big proponent of meeting each person (student, faculty, parent) where they are and helping them achieve their best by providing appropriate tools for their skill set.  Since every person needs a different combination of tools to be successful, I work to learn what they need and then provide it.  If I can help individuals achieve their potential--and even push beyond--then I have done something right.

Compassionate: Much of my day is spent listening to others.  So many people have the need to just be heard.  As they are having the opportunity to speak, to share, it is my job to ask the right questions to identify their needs.  It might be simply someone to listen to them, but it might be much more.  There could be a problem that to me seems trivial but to them is an insurmountable mountain.  I have to constantly remind myself that it isn't about me, it is about whoever is in front of me at that moment.  And it isn't what I think that matters.  I have great compassion (most of the time!) for people and find that to be a great strength since my job is all about people.



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