So what?

So you're a teacher. You have a name badge, a desk, and a red (in my case, purple) pen.

So what?

Why should students trust you? What makes you credible to students?

Today I gave my students a reason - and I want to challenge veteran and rookie teachers alike to do the same.

Here's what I did.

Last summer, I worked for the BSU Daily News as a feature writer. I covered Muncie's dullest and Muncie's finest - from Farmer's Markets to murders.

One of my favorite experiences working for the Daily News stems from a simple walk to class one Tuesday morning. I had consistently seen an old lady smiling and waving at students as they passed by on their way to campus. It had become so familiar that it didn't occur to me that this grandma-looking lady was out of her element. I began to wonder, "Why in the world would she want to live in a college-dominated neighborhood?"

So I asked.

The result?:
Story: http://tinyurl.com/ydlttkx
Multimedia piece: http://apps.bsudailynews.com/files/grandma_neeley/index.html

I shared this with my newspaper staff today, explaining that I too have been "just a reporter." Every journalist starts somewhere - and I think it's important to show students where you've come from. They see the destination daily in your teaching but I would argue that isn't enough to earn the trust of a high schooler.


Try it. Let me know how it goes.