Teacher Energy
I missed a few weeks of blog posting. Busy-ness is hard to battle in education. Grading, planning, research, advising, conference prep, etc.
But! I want to talk for a minute about teacher flow I'm not sure if there is literature on it, but it is certainly something I've experienced as a teacher in K-12 and in higher ed. It's the feeling of leaving a class that went well, with an increase in energy. It's similar to "flow" that is written about by a guy named Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. There are times when I'm teaching that time seems to stand still, when I am so focused on the moment, the students, and the multi-faceted job of teaching. When it goes poorly (and there will ALWAYS be days like this), it is draining. But, when it goes well, there's an energy you are left with that's almost like a high. And it has everything to do with the students, because I can tell you that it does not exist in online teaching.
Below, Csikszentmihalyi discusses flow in people in creative fields. He shares stories of artists who feel like they are so focused that their body almost disappears. They don't feel hungry, they aren't thinking about their problems, they are just in the moment. As teachers, we are creators. We are creating the learning experience for our students and when we get into that state of flow, Csikszentmihalyi says it is the secret to happiness. What do you think?
I missed a few weeks of blog posting. Busy-ness is hard to battle in education. Grading, planning, research, advising, conference prep, etc.
But! I want to talk for a minute about teacher flow I'm not sure if there is literature on it, but it is certainly something I've experienced as a teacher in K-12 and in higher ed. It's the feeling of leaving a class that went well, with an increase in energy. It's similar to "flow" that is written about by a guy named Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. There are times when I'm teaching that time seems to stand still, when I am so focused on the moment, the students, and the multi-faceted job of teaching. When it goes poorly (and there will ALWAYS be days like this), it is draining. But, when it goes well, there's an energy you are left with that's almost like a high. And it has everything to do with the students, because I can tell you that it does not exist in online teaching.
Below, Csikszentmihalyi discusses flow in people in creative fields. He shares stories of artists who feel like they are so focused that their body almost disappears. They don't feel hungry, they aren't thinking about their problems, they are just in the moment. As teachers, we are creators. We are creating the learning experience for our students and when we get into that state of flow, Csikszentmihalyi says it is the secret to happiness. What do you think?