Teacher Truths: Being Fearless in 2021
To the teacher who is reading this,
I’m just going to cut to the chase before I chicken out.
Have I told you my “One Word” yet?
It’s FEARLESS.
If I’m being honest, I haven’t been very fearless lately.
As much as I smile and keep on keepin’ on, there are a lot of things that I fear.
Ready to hear a few?
I fear failure
I fear I’m not making an impact
I fear I’ll never be determined enough to run a half marathon
I fear that someone is going to break in
I fear that I’m not approachable
I fear Brent and I won’t be able to have a baby
I fear that I am going to say the wrong thing at the wrong time
I fear that there are teachers reading this right now who feel lost and alone
Aside from my husband, I’ve never said any of those things to anyone else before. But that’s part of being fearless this year. I always say, “Be authentically you.” And sometimes, being authentic also means being vulnerable.
If I keep fearing failure, I won’t be able to put myself out there.
I won’t be able to make an impact.
I won’t be able to help teachers feel confident and capable.
I won’t be able to help you!
Yes, you!
You are the reason I am here. You are the reason I spend countless hours each week writing blog posts, recording and editing podcasts, trying to post meaningful content on social media. You are the reason I go live on Facebook every Sunday.
Without you, none of this would matter.
Without teachers just like you, our students would suffer.
Of course I want to be fearless in my personal life, but I also want to be fearless as the face behind North Dakota Teaching.
I want to be fearless so that I can live out God’s purpose. In December of 2019, God placed it on my heart to trust in Him. To trust His plan. I spent all of 2020 living out the word trust.
If we take a few steps back, you might remember that I told you in the fall of 2019 I felt hopeless for all of the first year teachers who were posting defeating posts on social media.
Every post I read said something along the lines of, “College didn’t prepare me for this.” “I didn’t know it would be this hard.” “I have no idea how to balance all of this.”
College wants everyone to have a well-rounded education, which in theory sounds great. Until you have 25 little humans in front of you who each need you to meet their needs socially, academically, and emotionally. 25 human beings who each need your individual attention. Who carry more trauma than you were ever trained on. Who have parents who simply don’t care.
And let’s not forget about the paperwork, standard based grading, differentiation, calls home, organization, meetings, oh and trying to fill a classroom full of supplies, flexible seating, books, and every other item needed to have a classroom that feels warm, safe, and welcoming.
God put it on my heart that there was a need for first year teacher support, and as much as I tried to suppress that feeling, I couldn’t.
So in February of 2020, I went all in. I took a major risk and purchased an alarmingly scary, expensive course so that I could learn everything I possibly could about running an online business.
Then, I made an even scarier purchase and purchased a one year subscription for a platform that would allow me to host and store content, send emails, and more so that I could serve teachers just like you.
When I tell you I was trusting God’s plan, I really was.
I went all in. I gave it everything I could, plus more.
In 2020, I took a lot of risks.
I launched the Blossoming Teacher Course for the first time.
I coached first year teachers for the first time.
I did Facebook and Instagram lives for the first time.
2020 was a wild ride that I will be forever grateful for.
But now, it’s time to be fearless.
As scary as 2020 was, 2021 scares me even more.
I’m all in now, and that is a scary thing.
I don’t want to let you down.
I don’t want you to feel unseen or unheard.
I don’t want you to have to pretend you’re okay all of the time.
I know God’s purpose for my life is to help teachers feel confident and supported.
To help teachers know they aren’t alone.
To help teachers find systems and processes that will make their lives easier.
To let teachers know it’s okay to not be okay.
To let teachers know it’s okay to leave the teacher bag at school.
To have a life outside of the classroom.
To know that who they are as a person matters too.
If you made it here, 2021 is our year!
Let’s be fearless and take on this year together.
If you take anything away from this message at all today, please, please, please know that I am always just a message away. I am here to help you however I can.
Just as I always told my students; you are loved, you are important, and you matter.
No matter what kind of day you’ve had. I want to hear about it. I want to celebrate your highs and listen to your lows. I want to cheer you on when you are trying something new and hear about those lessons that just didn’t go as planned.
I want to support you in any capacity that I can.
You are why I am being fearless and vulnerable, and pushing on even when I’m ready to give up.
You are why I am here.