by Alma Pettenger, SPS Professional Learning Specialist
Teaching provides us with the unique opportunity to inspire, guide, and help students find their purpose. For me, teaching is more than just a job; it is a privilege which bears much responsibility. How did you decide to become a teacher? What influences in your life brought you to where you are today? What keeps you going even after the tough days? As you have this inner dialogue, you might want to think about what purpose means. By definition, purpose is knowing the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists. A teacher who has found true purpose in what he does is a gift to students.
I recently had an experience that led me to this state of reflection about teaching with passion and purpose. What I thought would be a routine coaching conversation with one of my STEP UP Year Two teachers turned out to be an inspirational and highly motivational experience for me. As I started to lead this young teacher into a coaching conversation, a conversation in which the goal was to support and stimulate his thinking, the roles became reversed, and I found my thinking being supported and challenged.
Austin Kendrick, a PE and Health Teacher at Parkview High School, is a cancer survivor who has truly found his purpose in life. He believes that his life experiences and some very influential people around him have prepared him for his role as a teacher.
I invite you to follow this link to listen to Austin as he shares his story.
