Teaching should not be like rolling the dice. Rolling dice is taking a chance, a chance that one throws something out in the universe and chancing the outcome is as desired. Teaching, when done well, is well calculated, well planned, and well executed. 

Even though not a single lesson plan will ever be completely followed to the T, the preparation that guides the lesson is worth every minute. I go into each class, each lesson as if it were the last topic I was going to teach this set of students. Having that perspective, even on life, helps bring my A game to the classroom each and every time. If I never saw these students again, for whatever reason- they move, I move, or I get hurt, I want to make sure the last encounter they have with me is something they are going to remember and be able to take with them and use in the future. 

Now, one might think my way of thinking is morbid, but in more common terms I want to go into each class seizing the moment. Knowing that this moment only lasts for a moment, and that this moment matters just as much as any other moment so why not use this moment to the fullest? 

I love teaching. There are few things in life that I enjoy more than walking into a school where I know what I am going to do that day matters and is going to change someone for the better. 

Being the best teacher I can be, I believe takes continuous learning, on my part. Learning different ways to integrate a classroom procedure or topic can only help me as a teacher. I long for chances of continual growth as an educator. When there is professional development I am usually the first to volunteer, not because I want to be out of the classroom, but because I know what I learn there is going to my make my experience as an educator and my students' experience as learners better than what it would have been if I had not gone. 

Well executed lessons not only come from preparation but flexibility. In that I mean, that the best laid plans, could be written in gold, but if an educator is not flexible being able to adjust the lesson according to student needs or events that come up like a fire drill, then those lesson plans go right out the window.  I pride myself in being able to think on the run and create activities in the moment if I see my students are in need of them.

Overall, everyone has many chances to learn everyday. But I believe some people need a little help being able to see what is right in front of them, being able to comprehend it, and being able to use it. That is why educators exist to this day, because not every one can. The heart of a teacher is ever seeking and learning and never full. Right when a teacher's heart feels full, along comes another learner that takes up another space in the teacher's heart. Real educators never stop learning and never stop teaching, no matter if they are retired or not working, or for other reasons unknown. 

I could never be more proud to say, "I am an educator! I am a learner!" And I cannot imagine ever being anything else. 

~Heidi Kie Holsey~