Within your profession, but not specific to your subject matter, what are you passionate about? What is it about being an educator that drives you? What ignites a fire inside you?
I’ll give you a hint on this one: Your answer probably consists of the reasons you became a teacher. Too often, as we manage the dayto- day stresses of the job, we fail to reconnect with the reasons we felt called to this sacred and invaluable profession in the first place. This is the all-important “life-changing” category and I invite you take the time to consider and write down your response.
My professional passion sounds like this: I’m passionate about creating lifelong learners. I’m passionate about increasing the selfesteem and self-confidence of my students. I’m passionate about having students leave my class with a larger vision of what is possible for their lives. I enjoy helping students who are apathetic about school get excited about coming to school, even if it is just because of my class. I love developing the creative and innovative spirit of my students. I am passionate about not letting them fall victim to the horrific educational trends that would have us turn children into test-taking automatons who are able to spit out facts and trivia but are unable to speak about anything of significance or meaning. I want to model and inspire a spirit of entrepreneurship and drive for constant self-improvement in all areas of life. I am also passionate about developing engaging presentations for my material.
Frankly, I could fill this book with examples of my professional passion because it is the real reason I became a teacher. Few people go into teaching because of their love for a particular subject. Not many English teachers chose their careers based on an undying passion to teach the effective and correct use of the comma. Math teachers rarely have an unnatural love of pi. I certainly was not drawn to the profession in order to teach railroads. Chances are you, like me, are a teacher because of your professional passion.
Here is the key: On all of those days when you don’t have passion for your content, you must consciously make the decision to focus on your professional passion. This intentionality doesn’t come naturally, at least not at first. That’s why it is crucial to make the commitment to change your perspective and consistently focus on your professional passion. I constantly strive to include my professional passion in every lesson I teach with what I call life-changing lessons (LCLs). LCLs provide me the opportunity to attempt to transform the lives of my students regardless of my particular content standard for the day.
Incorporating an LCL, my true passion in education, also allows me to consistently “bring it.” This focus gives me the juice to light up a classroom no matter what topic I might be teaching that day. For example, when I’m teaching about Malcolm X, there’s a certain amount of factual, historical information I must deliver to my students. But I also have a hidden and larger agenda. I use Malcolm’s life story to show my students the unbelievably incredible ability human beings have to transform their lives. Here was a man whose father was killed, most likely murdered, his mother placed in an institution, and he was raised in the foster care system. He dropped out of school after having his dreams and ambitions crushed by, of all people, a teacher. He eventually got involved with the wrong crowd, was arrested and convicted for breaking and entering, weapons charges, and burglary. While serving a ten-year jail sentence, he completely transformed his life through the power of self-education. He read book after book, took correspondence courses and became a highly educated man. He joined the Nation of Islam, changed his name and eventually became a Muslim minister and the national spokesperson for the Nation. After becoming disillusioned with the Nation of Islam’s leader, taking a trip to Mecca and many other places overseas, he broke away from the organization and transformed his life and message yet again. He disavowed some of his earlier rhetoric and began delivering a new and powerful message that was more inclusive yet maintained his hardline ideology of self-determination and Black Nationalism. Just as he was refining this message and preparing to lead his new organization, he was gunned down while delivering a speech at the Audubon Ballroom. He was thirty-nine years old.
It’s difficult to get to a much lower spot in life than having your father murdered, your mom in a mental institution, dropping out of school, and sitting in prison as a convicted felon. Yet Malcolm chose to rise above those huge, seemingly insurmountable obstacles and became an inspirational leader to thousands. I use Malcolm’s story to show my students that no matter where they start in life, or how low they fall, they can still, through the power of self-education and their own efforts, rise to greatness.
A lesson on Abraham Lincoln becomes a lesson on persistence and overcoming adversity. The story of Rosa Parks shows that a single, ordinary person with strong convictions, and the courage to act on those convictions, can transform history. A D-Day lesson is an opportunity to teach appreciation and gratitude for the sacrifices made by previous generations to secure the liberties that we often take for granted today. Every lesson can include an LCL.
Professional passion can help fill the gaps you might have in content passion in other ways, as well. For example, I mentioned that I am not passionate about railroads. Fortunately for my students, I am passionate about developing engaging presentations for my material. So, although I might not be jazzed about the subject, I can absolutely be inspired and fully engaged in my attempt to present the topic in an entertaining way. I can be passionate about providing an opportunity for my students to develop and exercise their creative talents and abilities. I can be passionate about creating the atmosphere and social dynamic necessary to build rapport and a psychologically safe environment.
Professional passion is an absolute treasure chest filled with everything we need to steadfastly refuse to enter the classroom with anything less than a burning hot passion for the awesome job and responsibility that lies before us. Tap into it and feel the power surge through your soul!
Completely outside of your profession, what are you passionate about?
I’m passionate about magic. I’m passionate about sports, especially basketball and coaching. I’m passionate about my family. I’m passionate about entrepreneurship, marketing, and self-improvement.
To keep your passion for teaching alive, find as many ways as possible to incorporate your personal passions into your work. Whenever I can use magic to demonstrate a point, I absolutely do it. Not only does that help me create a more engaging and therefore memorable lesson, it also helps increase my sense of fulfillment and fun as an educator.
Almost every personal passion can be incorporated into the classroom. For example, are you passionate about art and creativity? Develop lessons that showcase your passion and allow your students to not only experience your unique strengths, skills, and imagination, but also begin to develop their own. If you are passionate about playing the guitar, bring it in and play. I know teachers who have an incredible interest in cutting-edge technology. They find ways to incorporate their tech skills into their lessons. Bringing your personal passion to the classroom empowers you to create a more powerful lesson because you are teaching from an area of strength. And bonus: it also allows your students to see how their unique skill sets and passions can be vital, invaluable, and applicable for their future.
If you’re having difficulty figuring out how your personal passion can be used in the classroom, don’t stress out. You may just need a little help in the art of creative brainstorming. Later portions of this book focus specifically on skyrocketing your creativity and mastering the brainstorming process. It’s also important to realize that unlike professional passion, personal passion isn’t likely to be something that can or should be included in your lesson plans on a daily basis. Rather, it is more like a bonus category that offers you opportunities to really ramp up your love of teaching when it works out.
By tapping into all three categories of passion—and especially