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When one trainer posted an absurd yearbook picture on her Instagram, it stopped my scroll—and clearly, I wasn’t the one one. Her publish has obtained a whole lot of consideration, putting a chord with educators.
Right here’s what she wrote: “Every year, my aim is straightforward: educate the teachings, make them chortle, and take one fully absurd yearbook picture that nobody will ever neglect, as a result of pleasure issues. Years later, when my college students return as faculty youngsters, they don’t discuss grades or initiatives, they discuss my foolish yearbook picture. I would like my college students to know that faculty could be stuffed with laughter, recollections, and even a little bit of chaos.”
This message resonated deeply with me, and I wished to be taught extra in regards to the trainer behind the picture. Meet Jere Chang, a gifted-education trainer whose Instagram and all of her social media is filled with the identical power and coronary heart that’s successful over 1000’s. Right here’s my Q&A along with her.
The place do you educate and the way lengthy have you ever been a trainer?
I educate gifted schooling at Drew Constitution Faculty in Atlanta, Georgia, and I’ve been within the classroom for over 20 years. I’ve taught all the pieces from kindergarten via faculty, together with ESOL, normal schooling, and at the moment gifted schooling in 1st via third grades.
When did you begin taking humorous yearbook photographs? What number of do you’ve now?
I began about 10 years in the past once I realized lecturers might both dread image day or personal it. It started as a joke, however now it’s custom.
Do you’ve a favourite picture that you simply’ve taken?
My favourite one is my first one with my glasses, wild hair, massive smile, and pink plaid shirt. It’s the one that the majority former college students rave about.
Do you’ve a particular reminiscence of a pupil who got here as much as you years later and shared how they remembered your picture?
Sure! I had a former pupil come again from faculty and say, “Ms. Chang, I nonetheless present individuals your yearbook photos after they ask who my favourite trainer was.” That meant the world to me. The picture could have been humorous, however what they actually remembered was how our classroom felt.
What’s your “why” for instructing?
I educate as a result of I do know what it’s prefer to hate faculty, and I would like my college students to really feel the alternative. I would like them to chortle, really feel seen, and imagine they belong precisely as they’re.
How do you hope your college students will bear in mind you years from now?
I hope they bear in mind me because the trainer who made studying enjoyable, believed in them fiercely, and reminded them that pleasure and curiosity go hand in hand.
It’s a tricky time proper now to be a trainer. Do you’ve any phrases of knowledge or assist to supply different lecturers?
Keep in mind to care for your self. You’ll be able to’t pour from an empty cup, however you possibly can refill it with laughter, neighborhood, and style for your self. We’re shaping lives, not simply information objectives.
What’s a tip you must maintain the enjoyment in instructing?
Construct pleasure into your routine. Play a fast sport, have fun random holidays, or begin class with a foolish query. The extra pleasure you create deliberately, the extra it naturally grows. Don’t let veteran lecturers make your new and recent concepts really feel invalid. Convey all the brand new power as we go the torch to you. Youngsters today deserve the most effective of us, so don’t let others and/or information design your journey.
What else ought to we learn about you?
Exterior of college, I’m a nationwide speaker and digital content material creator with over 4 million followers, sharing tales that commemorate lecturers and actual lecture rooms. I simply completed my first e-book, and it’s popping out Could 2026. It’s a two-part e-book that traces my journey from a struggling pupil to thriving educator, then affords sensible methods and heartfelt tales to assist lecturers rediscover pleasure and goal within the classroom. I dwell in Atlanta, Georgia, with my spouse and our two sons.
You’ll find all of Ms. Chang’s hyperlinks on her web site proper right here.
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