I never was a cheerleader in school. Never got into the clapping, smiling, kicking, cheering. They wouldn’t have let me anyway – I was very uncoordinated and more suited for roles that didn’t require me to flip in the air while singing chants & cheers.
As a teacher, though, I find myself being a cheerleader. When students need the extra push to get going on a task in class, or when they need the extra push to make up assignments from an absence, or when they need the extra push to pass the class, I find myself being a cheerleader.
I smile, I cheer, I shout, I raise my arms in the air, I clap. Or, in other words, I stay late after school, create modified assignments, make deals with students, do what I can to get the students working.
Athough I don’t think being a cheerleader (motivator) should be a requirement of the teaching profession, it almost seems impossible to get through a day without doing any cheerleading. Students should motivate themselves, but sometimes they just need that extra push.
Where cheerleading got me this trimester – I lowered my course failures from nine last trimester to two this one (and those two were truant students who were absent much more than in class). So, hip-hip-hooray!
Image from: http://www.mgsd.k12.nc.us/emis/lib/emis/cheerleader.jpg
