Thank God for you. Truly. I am deeply grateful for you. And today, I want to recognize two of the best I have ever had. But before I do, a little life update for some context:
One year ago, I was convinced that I was absolutely NOT going to do these two things after finishing grad school:
- Stay in the Midwest, and
- Become a school SLP
As you read this, I am:
- Residing in the Midwest, as a
- School SLP
- And genuinely enjoying it!
The full story is 10000% a God-thing, a cool story I hope to tell another time. Nevertheless, these two phenomenal people were nothing short of instrumental in this change in life planning. (Timeline: I met them both during my educational externship, basically student teaching, in the second-to-last semester of grad school.)
Okay. And now I want to highlight five reasons that they were (and still are!) extraordinary.
1. They were genuine.
2. They were clear in their expectations.
4. They let me make mistakes.
They didn't dredge up errors from Weeks 1-2 during Weeks 9-10; they highlighted all the progress I'd made. They remembered and shared their own grad school experiences. They remembered mistakes of their own. They listened. They said what I needed to hear when I needed to hear it. Even when I was critiqued or corrected, I knew that they were looking out for my best interests.
So for an incredible, 10-week whirlwind of my life...
They were my teachers. Mentors. Supervisors.
And they gave me a learning experience that entailed more than I could have ever hoped for.
Then after that (yeah, there's more!), they went the extra mile to check in, pep-talk, and even give some tough love. They have become my friends. They have taught me about our profession, and they also taught me about life. They have become role models. Now, we are colleagues, and they continue to demonstrate traits and skills I try to emulate. I owe so much of who I am as a SLP to them... "Thank You" doesn't even begin to cover it.
And the sum of all that, my fellow educators, is what made all the difference in my educational/professional experience. The biggest lessons are learned outside of traditional pedagogy and standardized tests... they are best caught, not taught. Every day, our lives teach something. Those lessons add up. And every once in a while, what we do helps change someone's life plan for the better. So here's to you, here's to us being the best teachers we can be--the best examples we can be.
- Alyce
1. They were genuine.
From the first days that I met each of them, they took a genuine interest in me. I was not just as a SLP-to-be, not just an extern, not just an extra set of hands... I was a person, and they took the time to get to know me. They were also transparent about themselves, readily sharing about their families, professional and personal experiences, things they enjoyed, things that were hard. It is incredibly rare to learn from someone who "gets" you, and whom you also "get"... and I had two.
Again, from Day One... I knew what was expected of me because they told me. There was no reading between the lines. They told me from the beginning that the experience wasn't going to be easy, but it would be worthwhile. They let me know what I needed to do and when those things had to be done. "Communication is key" is a rather "duh" statement to say to SLPs, but knowing vs utilizing a principle are two different things... and they did so, brilliantly.
3. They showed that they believed in me.
They didn't just set a bar for me to clear; they challenged me to push the bar higher--they stuck me in the driver's seat and expected me to be all-in. They didn't just ask for my opinion rhetorically or just to check my knowledge; many times they honestly asked for my ideas and input. They didn't inflate my ego; they built my confidence. They gave me tools/tips/tricks that would set me up for success. In short, I was very aware that they were investing in me.
4. They let me make mistakes.
Sure, making mistakes is inevitable. But sometimes, instead of an "I told you so," or "You shouldn't have done __," we get specific feedback and the chance to correct a mistake. And in doing so, we get a learning experience... we come away with a better, longer-lasting understanding than we would have had in getting the answer right the first time. Not to say that the learning curve catered to my type-A personality, but because they gave me those chances, the fear of making mistakes was gone. Because they let me do things on my own and learn from my mistakes, the result was what I'd call a "professional growth spurt."
5. They were incredibly gracious, understanding, and encouraging.
They didn't dredge up errors from Weeks 1-2 during Weeks 9-10; they highlighted all the progress I'd made. They remembered and shared their own grad school experiences. They remembered mistakes of their own. They listened. They said what I needed to hear when I needed to hear it. Even when I was critiqued or corrected, I knew that they were looking out for my best interests.
So for an incredible, 10-week whirlwind of my life...
They were my teachers. Mentors. Supervisors.
And they gave me a learning experience that entailed more than I could have ever hoped for.
Then after that (yeah, there's more!), they went the extra mile to check in, pep-talk, and even give some tough love. They have become my friends. They have taught me about our profession, and they also taught me about life. They have become role models. Now, we are colleagues, and they continue to demonstrate traits and skills I try to emulate. I owe so much of who I am as a SLP to them... "Thank You" doesn't even begin to cover it.
And the sum of all that, my fellow educators, is what made all the difference in my educational/professional experience. The biggest lessons are learned outside of traditional pedagogy and standardized tests... they are best caught, not taught. Every day, our lives teach something. Those lessons add up. And every once in a while, what we do helps change someone's life plan for the better. So here's to you, here's to us being the best teachers we can be--the best examples we can be.
- Alyce
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