New Teachers

10 Teachers on Finding Their Voice in the Classroom

June 2, 2015 Updated June 1, 2015

Everyone finds their voice their own way, for it develops with experience and evolves over time. When studying to be a teacher, voice is something taught, talked about, and even joked about, but it's not something a teacher really figures out until they are physically in the classroom.

Our community on Facebook often talks about the importance of teacher voice, and I thought I'd gather a few of my favorite quotes...

1.

Smile, smile, smile -- and cry if you need to. Our humanity is the most important thing we can show them. --Laura Maslin Bradley

2.

Finding your own voice is important in the classroom. --Lau Kai

3.

Your dedication and sincerity attracts the students and they start believing in you. --Shahnaz Shueb

4.

It doesn't happen in the first year of teaching, when you are discovering your own teaching style and finding out what works for you. Perhaps a reason so many teachers leave in their first year of teaching. Being true to yourself means building trust with

5.

The best advice I ever got came from a kindergartner. She told me, 'Be the real you!' --Eye Heart Teaching

6.

[Students] see right through you if you try to be anything else. --Gina Carbone

7.

I'm true with my students, I can't be fake. I'm too transparent. It can be a bad thing at times to filter yourself but my students like the fact I don't sugar coat anything, that I'm as real as I can be. Plus, at the end of the day you have to have fun. I

8.

Teachers should not be like the teacher down the hall, make your own way, be yourself, be an individual. --Don Richardson

9.

When I began teaching 10 years ago, folks would say: 'don't smile until Christmas; don't cry in front of your students; don't let them see you sweat.' I've done all of those and then some, and I am better for it. --Kristin L. Wolfe

10.

If we take the time to build relationships with our students, talk with them as the humans they are, they will in turn see humanness in us. --Sarah Hawkes

As Steve Jobs said:

If you have any other encouraging tips on how you found your voice as a teacher, please let us know in the comment section below!

This piece was originally submitted to our community forums by a reader. Due to audience interest, we’ve preserved it. The opinions expressed here are the writer’s own.