How to be a Legendary Teacher 2

By Adam Prociv

How to Be a Legendary Teacher highlighted how to survive and thrive as an educator—and more importantly, how to help students succeed.

Adam Prociv follows up that groundbreaking book with this sequel, drawing on his more than twenty-five years of teaching experience to help educators inspire students.
In straightforward language, he explains how to:

• incorporate cautionary tales into teaching to steer students to the right path;
• leverage opportunities to further your own learning;
• stick with teaching even when you confront obstacles;
• use social media without becoming overwhelmed by it.

The book also offers readers a snapshot of what the teaching profession is like in Australia, with the author observing that strong unions have protected the rights of school staff. Teachers in Australia can take many types of leave that simply are not available elsewhere.

Join the author as he shares an array of insights on how to help students succeed as you move toward becoming a legendary teacher.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Jul 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9781982297589

Adam Prociv

Adam Prociv drew on his own experiences as a longtime teacher to write How to be a Legendary Teacher, which seeks to help educators develop better theories about themselves and their teaching. He currently lives in Cairns, Queensland, Australia.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

GRATITUDE

I F THERE IS one thing in my life I am always grateful for, it’s my life as a teacher. As I am currently writing this, the world is in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has sent shock waves throughout the world about how we conduct our daily lives and how much has suddenly changed with job security. Unfortunately, many travel, tourism, and service industries have been affected by this in a huge way. Many have been left without employment, thus also affecting their livelihoods. As a teacher, I have been very lucky. I have permanent employment through a government school, and as an experienced senior teacher, I am-as we say in Australia-on a very good wicket. This means I am on a good pay scale and have loads of work-life balance satisfaction.

So, yes, I am very grateful for my life as a teacher and, therefore, have a very well-established attitude of gratitude. But this is only part of the story. Being grateful, for me, also comes through job satisfaction in the knowledge that I am responsible for influencing and shaping young minds. And as the author of this book, I take this very seriously. I am also very much aware of how this affects my community and greater society in general. Gratitude also ties in with the two most important lessons I received as a teenager when I was back in high school.

The first lesson was actually a real science (and personal development) lesson, where we were exposed (or subjected) to an educational video of a baby being born. I recall very vividly how we were the last class to view the video in that given week at school and how all the other students had given us graphic accounts of what they’d seen and how they’d felt about it. Needless to say, when I actually got to see this video for myself, I was both intrigued and horrified by its content. But it left a very measurable impression on me as to how I would conduct myself around these little miracles that would many years later become my students. My uncle, who was a physician, also once told me that of all the greatest things he had ever witnessed as a doctor, it was seeing a human baby being born. He described with such passion how it never ceased to amaze him how an organism such as a human could evolve from a single egg and a single sperm and become a living, breathing person.

So, yes, I see all my students as little miracles.

The second lesson that I recall from high school was taught on an excursion (a field trip) to the local prison down the road from our school. I was curious about what being incarcerated really meant and how this part of our society functioned. And once again, I was both intrigued and horrified by what we saw in this place (or at least what we were told whilst we were there). I recall how I thought that this place (the prison) was the end of the line for many individuals. And some of the inmates at this particular establishment were former students from our school. The prison guards were very vocal in how our particular school kept the local prison in business. The actual physical environment had a very strange energy about it. I could only describe it as the edge of humanity- meaning this was the harshest place I had ever been. To me, being in prison was a fate worse than death.

My mother who was also a teacher and specialised in the creative arts, taught this for several years in the local prison system. She even taught some of these ex-classmates of mine and was very disappointed in their life choices that led them to becoming incarcerated. This led me to realise how lucky I was- for never making similar decisions to theirs and for believing enough in my students’ success so they would not end up there either. I tell my students that I only ever wish the best possible life for them, and this also entails that I wish them to stay out of prison.

When I turned eighteen and was, by society’s accounts, a legal adult, my mother sat me down and gave me these instructions. She said, Adam, you are now a legal adult. You can now drink (alcohol), vote, and go to prison. Please choose wisely. And to my credit, I did.

As teachers, we occasionally get surveys or sometimes have hunches about where our students will end up when they finish their formal education with us. For many high-energy students, it is sometimes assumed that they will end up on the wrong side of the law. This is, at its core, just an assumption. Some students do, and some don’t.

The hard facts, unfortunately, do come in the form of statistics on students’ reading abilities and how the students at the lower end of the scale have a higher chance of turning to a life of crime. I did hear that some government departments actually do conduct surveys on how many students can’t read or read very well in order to gauge how many prison inmate numbers there will be in the future. As a teacher, I am not exactly filled with hope about the positive outcomes for these students. Many people I grew up with and went to school with like I stated before, did actually end up in prison, and I do like to share these stories with my current students. This goes down fairly well, for the most part.

Some students even ask me why I, use these scare tactics to get them to listen. I just tell them that it is more of a reality tactic. There is, however, still a very small percentage of my students who don’t seem to care about this outcome one way or another. The thing that worries me the most is that this percentage seems to be growing. I don’t wish to pick on the millennial generation (even though I will), but it seems there are more young children, teenagers, and young people who seem to think it will never happen to them.

Unfortunately, the statistics on the troubles in our society don’t lie. We have now a generation of people who cannot survive without their phones being glued to their hands or their ears 24-7. But instead of laying blame anywhere or, like I said before, picking on the next generation, I feel we now have a host of social problems getting people into a lot of trouble. These include car crashes caused by distracted drivers and car crashes with distracted pedestrians also. We have cyber-bullying and cyberstalking to add to this list. But when I relay this to some of my students, they just don’t get it. I tell them they will one day get it through some very harsh life lessons. And this reality check is the way I let my students know that there is no easy path in life.

Yes, abundance, prosperity, and success are all out there waiting for them, but these things do not come easily either. And for those who think they do, there may be a harder price to pay (which could include a stint in prison).

At times I feel just like a glorified parent. I have almost been a surrogate dad to many students over the years. I’ve begun to realise that, at times, I can only stand back and watch my kids (students) make their own mistakes. As much as I don’t ever like to see children in distress or having difficulties in their lives, I know I can’t help them by trying to save them. It’s like how a butterfly develops and has to push its way out of its chrysalis. The struggle to get out strengthens its wings in order for it to fly. I heard of an experiment many years ago where a human actually cut the chrysalis open to assist the butterfly, and unfortunately, it had no wing strength and dropped to the ground and died.

In some ways, I feel our schools have become prisons, with the insane number of rules we all have to abide by. Rules are a fundamental part of any functioning learning institution. However, we have somehow swung way too far- inhibiting our students’ abilities to make good decisions in this rule-saturated environment. Many teachers and educators have been concerned about this for quite a while. I wouldn’t say I have all the answers. But I invite you, the reader, to ponder on how we can swing things back into balance. I feel we need a better balance and more respect for teachers, which will in turn lead to more respect for learners.

Another surprising aspect of my professional gratitude comes through the notion that I am, like my students, in a constant state of learning. But this self-learning as a teacher and educator takes some very strange forms at times. One thing this has taught me over the years in my professional development is that there will always be someone or something that will push me to that next stage of my teaching journey. Sometimes, the push is very subtle, and other times, it’s very dramatic. Yet, this, has always in hindsight allowed me to view this with a healthy sense of gratitude. This being that I know that God and the Universe had a change of course for me in the works, and this particular obstacle allowed me to see (or experience) a new change as being possible. And as I have the utmost faith in my beliefs about this, my higher power never fails to come through with something better for me.

Another vital point about gratitude in my teaching (and my life in general) is the notion that, at times, things are never going to be easy or plain sailing. The irony about our lives as teachers (and humans) is that we seem to be on this never-ending mission to make our lives better or even happier. I recall many years ago speaking with a very experienced fellow teacher about the many challenges in our profession and she gave me the best advice I think I ever received. She told me how, sometimes, no matter how much you plan or prepare for your teaching day and no matter how wonderful your intentions are to deliver the best for your students, some days (or weeks or semesters) are just crap.

This was described so well by Alexander Loyd PhD in his book Beyond Willpower, where he discusses how we begin searching for external circumstances to make us happy. Or at least we believe the presence of these circumstances will lead to happiness. Loyd also states that the greatest teachers of all time have always taught that success in life does not come from seeking pleasure and avoiding pain at all costs. Success comes from living in truth and love at all times, and whatever circumstances come from that are the best ones for us, even if there is pain involved.

And as a teacher, I have found that the true essence of what I believe from deep within me becomes my truth that keeps me juiced or passionate about what it is I’m actually teaching. My truth, for me as a teacher, lies in my own sense of gratitude but also (as again Loyd points out is the case for all of us) in my own core beliefs, which bring success that can never be measured or even, once achieved, be taken away from us. I find these moments in my day-to-day teaching regularly yet know the path to true self involves moments of difficulty or discomfort at times.

Perhaps teaching for me is a bit like a long-term relationship. I could say it’s like a marriage. But as of the time of writing this book, I have yet to have had this experience. So, I will call it, like I’ve just stated, a long-term relationship. Therefore, teaching can bring a myriad of experiences. There are times when you can be passionately in love with it and totally devoted to it. And then there are other times when you want to be as far away from it as possible. But like in any committed relationship, you will always want to come back- to dedicate yourself to it; continue to learn from it; and obviously, nurture it and continue to contribute to it. Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of modern teaching is to persevere when things begin to test you.

Building your personal character within your teaching is one important aspect of gaining valuable experience that can help you stay in teaching. In this modern throwaway society, I feel we have a tendency to not persevere or stick at it like we used to. That’s not to say there aren’t people out there achieving their goals with perseverance or making it happen. Yet, the tendency to stay with a long-term project or endeavour I feel is waning a little, especially in teaching. Just this year, I have witnessed a so-called, teacher shortage as many experienced teachers begin to retire or to devote themselves to other vocations in their lives.

This does mystify me a little, as I know that each year, there are plenty of teaching graduates getting their qualifications and finding their place in the workforce. I have spoken with a few of these graduates, and they have been less than enthusiastic about their future teaching prospects or some of their teaching opportunities. And as this is only a very small slice of the teaching population as it stands. Yet it begins to show a pattern of how younger teachers, perhaps, are not as confident about their career choices within teaching as perhaps they once were. There are obviously many factors that can contribute to this, and I could probably write a whole other book about them. But for now, I will just focus on the issue at hand, and that is how I can contribute to enabling the next generation of teachers to feel confident and inspired about their choices and about their own teaching (and learning).

As an experienced senior teacher, I see it as a part of my role and my responsibility to keep encouraging these new graduates to stay the course (this is why I’m writing these teaching books). I hope to enable them to keep believing in themselves and their dreams as a teacher (and also as a person).

Another very important aspect of gratitude with teaching is our leave entitlements. Here in Australia, we have some of the best working conditions for teachers in the world. As much as I’m sure there would be plenty of teachers out there who might want to dispute this, we really do. The fact that we get around twelve weeks of school holidays each year fully paid is actually very good, in my opinion.

Many times in my teaching life I have heard whispers of the government trying to reduce these holiday entitlements or even completely take them away. But so far, this hasn’t happened. This is also partly due to the strong teaching unions established here that protect our rights. And I must add that our other leave entitlements and options are very good also. We can choose to teach part-time if we wish to. We can also take many different types of leave that just don’t exist in other parts of the world. Here in Queensland (Australia), we get allocated one sick day per month of teaching service. And as much as teachers with many years of experience can build up very good immunities to many coughs and colds (but not all), we can accumulate a lot of sick leave. The best thing about this is that it never gets taken away (unless you retire of course). Many teachers whinge about all of the sick leave they don’t take and lose when they do actually retire, which is unfortunate.

I feel, though, isn’t it better to have a system that allows us to have this safety net for when other things could happen in our lives? Accrued sick leave can be used when one has an accident or a much-needed medical procedure and needs some time off. There is also the option of using it as compassionate leave when a family crisis arises out of the blue. And as much as teachers think this is standard everywhere, unfortunately, it is not. Nor has it been standard throughout our modern era.

The local museum here in my hometown of Cairns, Australia, has an interesting exhibit about how up until as late as the 1970’s, single women had to quit their teaching job when they got married. Yes, believe it or not. this was standard practice. The theory behind this dark age thinking was that her husband would be the breadwinner of the family and support her. As time has moved on, these strange beliefs are now history, yet they did exist. This did create, at that time, a nationwide teacher shortage. This was highlighted in an interesting ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) website article about how the issue was remedied. The Australian government began recruiting many teachers from overseas (mainly from England, Canada, and the United States of America). Many of these teachers stated how they felt that the Australian Unionised Teaching system gave them more opportunities within this profession than did their native countries. Many of these teachers have stayed and settled here in Australia permanently.

After reading the book Rainbow Pie by Joe Bageant, I was shocked and saddened at how badly many workers are treated by non-unionised workplaces. In some countries around the world, unions are portrayed as evil and dominating. They have also been, at times, hijacked by individuals for political purposes, which can paint them in an extremely negative light. However, many working poor societies have been born out of non-unionised companies and workplaces. The people who get caught up in these situations can easily become entangled in a hopeless or no-win existence, which can become a generational hazard. This can also lead communities to becoming poverty-stricken, making it so individuals quite often have very little chance of breaking out of this cycle.

As a teacher, this bothers me a lot. I believe in equality for all, regardless of the situation they are born into. And as much as this sounds a little naive or even airy fairy, I feel that this is one of my most core beliefs for all individuals. I also believe that education is the key to a better life, yet education, per se, can come in many different forms. And to have a good foundation for this is to firstly have a relatively stable and balanced livelihood. This, coupled with quality employment and equitable working conditions, can create, in my humble opinion, a more balanced and stable society.

It still mystifies me how many governments of the world want to keep their people (or voters) separated and divided over many issues, especially those that involve education. This then creates imbalance within communities with the notion of the us-versus-them thinking. Of course, this is a common political tactic, enabling them to keep the power, as they do not want to hand over the keys to the inmates (that being to lose their power).

There is also always a little bit of talk about how the main workforce in this country (Australia) is only entitled to four weeks annual leave and that teaching, in theory, should be exactly the same. The only problem is the effort and perseverance it takes to work in a people-related industry like teaching. And it definitely takes a lot more of this than most people realise. Unless you have been there and felt the extremes and pressures teaching brings, it would be considered very ignorant to state something otherwise. This point was also brought to the fore during the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic- as many schools had temporarily shut down, forcing many people to home-school their children. At that time, social media became flooded with talk about how difficult this task was. The line that many teachers took on this was a resounding welcome to our world. I do, indeed, believe that many communities (and nations) began to really appreciate their teachers a little bit more after this.

To flip this last point on its head a little, I would also like to bring to light the notion of interpersonal energy. I did introduce this topic in my first book and wish to delve a little deeper. I am grateful for the fact that I get to teach young children. This means I am around them for a huge amount of time throughout the year. Their (mostly) youthful energy inspires me a lot and spurs me on to become more childlike, especially as I get older.

I see, each and every school day, how they deal with new problems and challenges. There are some old souls, who complain about everything and are often difficult to get motivated, yet, for the most part, I just love being around these kids. There has been a TV program here in Australia on our ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) called Old People’s Home for 4 Year Olds. This is probably the only reality TV show worth watching. It consists of an old-age home that has a day care centre next to it. The children there have been allocated to an elderly adult, and they have some strange and funny adventures together. Even watching them eat together is great entertainment. The benefits for both parties in this show are immense. The elderly people love having the young children around to give them some youthful energy, and the young children love being with the elderly adults, as they are full of life experience. Which I also feel is unfortunately, really going to waste in our society. Another great benefit to this social experiment is that these interactions aren’t really constricted by time. The elderly residents and the children are at totally different ends of the life spectrum, yet they have plenty of time, with very few responsibilities in their lives. This also gives the young children time to appreciate the elderly people’s life knowledge and, at the same time, gives the elderly people a new sense of purpose to what can be a lonely existence in an age care home.

A bigger part of my own gratitude as a teacher is to keep believing in my teaching ideals. For many years, I have set personal goals as a teacher, which, strangely enough, have all happened. I say strangely enough because some of these goals seemed so far-fetched, they just felt good to think about and project upon but really seemed too good to be true. The book you are now reading is just one of them. And as the years rolled by, these goals (or hopes and dreams) began to materialise, even in the strangest of ways.

Some came as feelings, rather than physical attributes or achievements. I prayed and meditated for a long time for more focus on how to be a better teacher. I felt that, at times, I was a little detached from my responsibilities within my teaching practice. This took courage, firstly to acknowledge this within myself and then to be intelligent enough to be able to rectify it within my day-to-day teaching life. This mainly involved being able to take full responsibility for my words and actions as a teacher. And over the years, I found this then included my thought processes behind the words and actions also. This may sound slightly mundane or even a little bit off track. But this is one factor that bothered me about myself for many years. It was partly to do with a lack of perseverance with myself and my beliefs about why I wanted firstly to become a teacher and then to continue as a teacher.

Like Viktor Frankl states in his iconic book, Man’s Search for Meaning, we can believe in anything within ourselves if we know why we are