By. Meredith Biesinger
Ah, the teacher’s lounge…a place of many personalities, teaching styles, and the shared joys and frustrations of teaching.
As a first-year teacher many years ago, I remember being somewhat intimidated by the teacher’s lounge. It was kind of like being the new kid on the first day of school. Where would I sit? Who would I sit with? Will they like me? I was 23 years old at the time, and these seasoned teachers, with their character mugs of black coffee and decades of experience, terrified me.
I learned a valuable lesson on that day and for many days and years to come. In fact, I’m still learning, and therein lies the lesson. We can all learn from one another. We all have specific strengths, talents, wisdom, and experiences that make us an asset to our colleagues and our students.
The bottom line, we need to share!
Unlimited data shows that it is beneficial for our physical, mental, and emotional health to communicate with others. Teaching is such a communicative career; it only makes sense to support one another.
Teaching is a rewarding and wonderful profession. On the flip side, teaching can be an extremely challenging profession. Here’s a triple win! By sharing ideas, activities, thoughts, and support, we provide learning and growth for ourselves, our colleagues, and our students.
So, how do we do this? Well, welcome to our Teacher’s Lounge! Educator Marketplace has provided an online community for teachers to share ideas, thoughts, frustrations, joys, and experiences no matter where you are or what you teach. Many of us are back in our physical classrooms, while several of us are teaching online or perhaps doing a little bit of both through a hybrid model. Whether you can go to your teacher’s lounge right now or not, join us! You can always sit with us, and bring whatever drink you like!