Discovering My “Do Something”
When I think back on the teachers that I have had in my life, certain ones stick out as ones that truly embodied the type of adult I wanted to become. They were confident, selfless and service-minded, and passionate about causes that were near and dear to their hearts. As I got older and became a teacher myself, I strive to make a conscious effort to use these same qualities in my own teaching and mentoring of youth in the hopes that I can inspire them just as my teachers inspired and shaped me.
Ten years later, it’s teachers that are still inspiring me to be a better person and educator. Everyday, I am driven to elevate what I am doing in and out of the classroom to impact the lives of my students by the influences of some incredible educators. Whether it be from the teacher one door down from my classroom or the teacher across the country that I follow on social media, the passions of these teachers both inspires and challenges me to be a better teacher to my students.
From the words of one of these amazing educators, the best thing that you could do as an educator is to find your “Do Something.” When teachers mix passion with action, incredible things happen. Do Somethings take the form of practices, projects, programs, and initiatives both big and small, and are not limited by content, age level, or experience level.
For me, my passion is connecting my students to local higher education and industry, building a strong sense of community so that my students see the benefits of staying in our region of Louisiana and building a stronger community together. From this passion spurred a very unique project. To engage my students in my passion but in a unique way, I created the NWLA STEM on Screen Film Festival! This action was meant to connect regional students to local STEM industry experts and have those experts explore the themes of quality STEM-related films with our students through an industry lens. We’ve been able to engage over 500 students with the festival, with hopes to make it bigger and more impactful each year.
Why “Do Somethings” Matter
Second only to our students, teachers are most inspired by other teachers. We often do things to make a positive impact for our students with putting a second thought into it. These efforts to make a difference are, at the core, our Do Somethings. When we share our stories of things we are doing to use our passions to change the lives of our students, we inspire other educators looking to make a similar difference.
There are Do Somethings happening in classrooms and in schools across the state of Louisiana and in all corners of the United States. Teachers are forming best practices, driving initiatives to help address students’ social emotional learning needs, and many other passion projects that are changing the lives of students. Let’s learn from each other, inspire one another, and tap into the passion of others to deepen our impact that we are able to make in our classrooms and in our communities.
Share Your “Do Something!”
Help us share your Do Something and inspire other educators!
Spencer Kiper 