Mind-Set No. 10: Good Ego, Bad Ego
Your teaching methods and strategies may follow any number of different paths, and there are many good options. A very important addition to the mix is to maintain a low ego investment in your work. Teachers whose egos aren't in check often exhibit these behaviors:
-resisting picking up trash off the floor of the classroom
-wanting students to remember them at the end of the year
-wanting to be right about something in debate or discussion
-hoping to catch students making a mistake or not knowing their content
-placing importance on looking smart, witty, or charming
-making students feel bad for forgetting something
-having their own self-importance be more important than their students
-keeping things the same, protecting the status quo
These actions all stem from a bad ego, rather than a super teacher mentality. A good ego is high self-esteem or self-confidence. Keeping your good ego in play means that you are more concerned about what is true to yourself and your own integrity than about what others think. Having a good ego means others come first, not in the sense of harming oneself, but in the sense of allowing others to be "the star.” Consider this list, which reflects the behaviors of a good-ego person:
-letting your own humility and mistakes set an example
-never being too proud to do whatever it takes to help
-wanting to allow others to be heard and acknowledged
-wanting students to experience how great they are
-placing importance on making others look good
-making it safe for students to admit their own mistakes
-getting satisfaction by helping others be successful