Do you have ZIP?

ZIP is you at your best. When you have ZIP, others around you catch on as well. You become a life force and a life giver. Through ZIP you are able to breathe life into others. It leaks out of you and into them, lighting others up and helping them reach the dizzying heights of life.

This is also your job as a teacher. Some people describe it as a calling. The simplest job description for a teacher is to have ZIP and spread ZIP. You don’t just want children to come into your class and ‘do’ their work. There is a massive difference between learning and doing. The latter is passive and the former is magical. The conditions for effective learning can be described with all your favourite buzzwords. Passion, engagement, motivation, purpose, relevance – we could go on. ZIP boils it down into the only three words you’ll ever need.

👉Zeal, Inspiration and Positivity.

Zeal isn’t just yours and the children’s enthusiasm for learning. It’s the enthusiasm and energy for life. As a teacher your job is to make sure every possible door of opportunity stays open to as many children as possible. A good attitude is the key to this. Anyone can have all the credentials and qualifications for any job – but if their attitude stinks, their application goes straight in the bin.

Inspiration doesn’t mean you do whatever you can to light the fire in the bellies of others. You need to light the fire in your own belly first. If you’re not raging with inspiration then how can you expect your children, colleagues, friends and family to catch on? You need to seek out what inspires you, sets your fire alight and ignites your passion. If you can hit that sweet spot, you’ll magically inspire others around you.

Positivity is the key to unlocking not just a successful teaching career, but a successful life as well. In short, the world will never be changed by people who only want to complain about it.

🚀