As part of the Oklahoma State University’s Writing Project Advanced Summer Institute, teacher consultants crafted “This I Believe” essays inspired by the organization’s call for people to write and share essays describing the core values that guide their daily lives. At a time when teachers’ values are being called into question, teachers have consented to share their essays to shape the public narrative on who teachers are and what they believe. If you wish to share yours, reach out to Sarah Donovan or write your essay (or poem) in the comment section below.
This I Believe by Tracy Hunt
I believe in joyful and celebratory dancing. I am talking about the kind that starts in your soul, wriggles in your toes, spreads up your spine, tingles your hair, and leaves you with that type of smile proclaiming, “That is gooood!” In education, especially today, we tend to get so bogged down with mandates, politics, the quantification of students, and neverending tasks of the daily grind, that we forget to dance.
Remember those special days in the classroom when you taught and real, genuine learning took place? Students were engaged, the magic dance of joyful learning was happening before your eyes and you felt the music in your soul. Didn’t that give you a reason to dance?
Dance!
Celebrate!
Give yourself the freedom to dance for the simple joy of teaching and learning.
Education should be joy-filled. Teaching and learning should be something that, even though it’s not easy, should make you smile. When instruction becomes a delight, we are attending to the educational needs of our learners. Joy is contagious and a classroom of happy learners should fuel your teacher’s spirit.
Tap your toes to the sounds of engaged dialogue.
Swing your hips to the friction of papers being marked with complex analytical thoughts.
Raise your hands for creative thinking.
Spin in delight with the leaping of words from a page into the curious minds of your students.
Sometimes we have to put aside the noise that is prevalent in the current educational climate. The music is still there, find it and I believe you will remember how to dance.
Tracy Hunt is the secondary ELA instructional facilitator for Mid-Del Schools. She has a passion for adolescent literacy, is an adjunct professor at UCO, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in adolescent literacy at the University of Oklahoma. She believes in equitable educational opportunities for all and that literacy is a civil right.
Tracy, I love that you bring a joy-filled energy to what our focus should be in teaching!
Tracy, thanks for sharing your “I Believe” essay. I couldn’t agree more with you that dancing and music helps one find joy when sometimes the outside world feels crushing.