Teachers: “A role model is a person whose behaviour is imitated by others.”

We all hope that learners have good, strong role models who possess the kind of qualities that make our students want to be better people. While there is some variation in every teacher’s definition of what it means to be a good person, I believe the following characteristics should remain constant.
Little eyes are watching and little ears are listening. Talk about your experiences to the learners. Someday, they will be in the same predicament and think to themselves, “What did Miss or Mr X do or say when s/he was in the same situation?”
When you have a tough choice to make, allow the learners to see how you work through the problem, show which decision is best, but also how they can to come to that conclusion.
Nobody’s perfect. When you make a bad choice, let those who are watching and learning from you know that you made a mistake and how you plan to correct it. This will help them to understand that everyone makes mistakes; it’s not the end of the world; you can make it right; and you should take responsibility for it as soon as possible.
We all want children to stick with their commitments and follow through with their promises. However, as adults, we get busy, distracted, and sometimes, a bit lazy. That means be on time, finish what you started, don’t quit, keep your word and don’t back off when things get challenging.
While it may seem like a great deal of pressure to be a positive role model; nobody is expecting you to be superhuman. We certainly wouldn’t expect that behaviour from the children who are looking to us for answers and guidance—nor would we want them to expect that kind of flawless behaviour from themselves or others. You can only do your best. And, if you mess up today, you can always try again tomorrow.
Here’s to a great Weekend!