What do you do if your late career experience and expertise as an educator go unrecognized?

You find things that you like about the teaching profession. You find little wins with your students, with your colleagues, and with yourself. These little wins go along way.

Alexandra, I also feel under appreciated and unrecognized by the local community for strides made for NATS chapter, student progress, and community opera.

Acreditar que somos capazes de contribuir com as pessoas da área que atuamos ou pessoas bem próximas faz com que busquemos mais e mais aprendizados e que temos muito a ensinar e aprender.

Passion is what keeps me going. I have identified what I love most about teaching and focus on those aspects of my job. Teaching is hard and some days it can feel like too much. But, on those days I focus on what I am passionate about in teaching, the students. Watching them blossom into not only scholars, but also human beings helps bring joy to a challenging job. Sometimes, it's something funny a child says or the small steps to success a student has taken that can make a difficult day better.

Aprender é um verbo que fez, faz e sempre fará parte da minha vida e história. Somos seres que temos muiiito a aprender, independente da experiência e idade que tenhamos.

I used to be an elementary, general education classroom teacher with twenty-five or more students at a time. Not going to lie, it was hard to manage all their needs at once. After some reflection, I realized that my favorite part of the day was teaching reading; so, I chose to go back to school to be a reading specialist. While the coursework was grueling, and maybe I should have taken longer than a year to finish my masters, it was the best decision I ever made. I am so happy that I identified what made me happiest and chose to focus on that in my career. While some days are more difficult than others, I am so much happier spending all day working with students to acquire literacy skills.

O maior reconhecimento deve vir de nós mesmos. É fácil? Não, principalmente quando encontramos pessoas que nos desmotivam constantemente, mas a troca de experiência nos faz acreditar que somos seres fantásticos e que uma das belezas da vida é que podemos até encontrar quem nos desmotiva, mas procuro sempre àqueles que acreditam que somos uns pelos outros.

Connection is vital as a teacher as sometimes it is hard when you do so much for your kids and no one notices or appreciates your hard work. At my current job I have a little quad in my hallway of teachers that I spend time with. We are across the hall/next to each other and we spend time talk to each other about challenging kids, things we've done with our students, and life outside of work. It makes the day go by a lot faster when you have someone you can talk with.

In my experience staying connected with those still teaching helps keep you current with new developments in DODEA. I also found joining NEA Retired and FEA Retired to be very rewarding. Both allow you to have input into how to continue to improve the education students receive and to assist in efforts to improve educators experiences.

For someone who feels unrecognized in their career - I think sharing your expertise is great ! Many people simply don’t know or recognize other’s strengths- until they see the person in action. Be a mentor to new teachers or others and share all the skills and knowledge you have. Show people what you know 🤓

I have found that sharing is extremely beneficial, especially when working with coworkers who are not familiar with the science of pedagogy. I work at a pharmacy college with many PhDs in pharmaceutical sciences, and the rest are PharmDs. None of these have any training in teaching. I felt very unappreciated for my knowledge base until I started backing up my suggestions with data. This appears to be the language they understand. I respect their knowledge of neurobiology or medicinal chemistry, and I feel that my knowledge as a doctor of education is just as important. You need to make some noise to be heard. It just needed to be directed to the audience in the right format.

Even if your previous work is not initially valued, demonstrating expertise that contributes meaningfully to the organization above and beyond the responsibilities of a position is an excellent way to garner positive attention and additional opportunities. It may also land you additional work with minimal to no additional compensation for a duration.

Acredito que tenho um enorme legado a deixar como pessoa, como profissional. Batalhei, estudei, enfrentei desafios e venci momentos desafiadores, mas DESISTIR não faz parte da minha vida

I think sharing my expertise is a good way to support other teachers who need a little help in the area of education. Being a teacher is not easy as other thinks because there are challenges in the classroom but it is good to overcome those challenges. Being positive about yourself and trying hard to support those children is the best way to be an excellent teacher. The good way to overcome those challenges in the classroom is to understand each child's emotions, learning from their emotion you can have a good way to have control of your classroom and understand their feelings. From there you can have an idea of what can you do to support them.

Jamais pensei em parar! Penso em sempre atuar, mesmo com carga horária menor, mas ficar longe da EDUCAÇÃO não faz parte dos meus planos.

I believe that being surrounded by young people for close to 30 years keeps you very young at heart and boyant in spirit to a degree that other vocations may not offer. Yet eventually you can sense your time at the dance is coming to an end when the younger faculty are forming their own cadres and you're not part of the email and text chain anymore. As you prepare to leave you can either choose to Carr your achievements with you, or your grievances. When I look at my plaques and trophies I see the faces of the kids who helped me attain them. That's enough for me.

The most important opinion that you have about yourself, so, I don't do my job to have recognition of others, is because I like what I do. What I don't allow for sure is to feel unrespect.

Feeling success is an incredible feeling, but it's important to remember that it's not achieved alone. As teachers, we have the power to shape young minds and make a lasting impact on their future. However, sometimes we might feel that our efforts go unnoticed and underappreciated. When this happens, it's crucial to remind ourselves of the intrinsic value of our profession and the positive influence we have on our students' lives. If you're feeling unappreciated, don't hesitate to reach out to a supportive network of colleagues or friends who understand the unique challenges of our field. Take time to prioritize self-care and mental health to stay motivated and continue making a difference.

I would get a takeaway and a cheap bottle of sangria and in a mellow mood (having consumed both) reflect upon the uncertainties of life...