International School

It's hard to see myself as teacher of the month, because I normally see myself as...just me. As I teach, I'm not trying to be teacher of the month, I'm just trying to be me in front of my class. But as I think longer on it, I suppose that "just me" attitude and mindset might be what sets a teacher up for success in the first place. You might have heard it said that teaching is, in great part, acting. Even if you aren't excited about transitive and intransitive verbs, you must act like it's exciting. When you are in front of your class, you are on show, much like an actor on stage. Yet you can't be a total actor; you can't be portraying a total facade. Students see through that immediately. It seems to me that a successful teacher must bring a "just me" attitude, a mindset of humility, to his or her class. That makes a teacher more authentic, which makes a teacher more relatable, which makes a teacher's students more receptive and responsive. When my students are receptive and responsive, I find myself getting more excited and animated, and I don't have to act in the first place. As I strive for authenticity, as I strive for "just me-ness," in my class, that is when I feel most like I might actually be an effective teacher. I would say that authenticity and humility go hand in hand. A teacher that sees himself or herself as nothing more than himself or herself is a teacher from whom students can truly learn.

But, then again, maybe that's not true for everyone. Maybe that's "just me."

-Aaron Eding

High School Teacher