What characteristics of the imposter syndrome can you relate to most? How can you stop measuring yourself against someone else’s idea of success? How can we stop measuring our students against someone else’s idea of success? Why is it important for us as educators to “listen for brilliance” as Lou Solomon describes in her talk, The Surprising Solution to the Imposter Syndrome?
I have definitely struggled with anxiety over the years due to that overwhelming feeling of doing it all. Self doubt tends to sneak in when we realize we maybe haven't done as well as we hoped. It also sneaks in when we are around negative people. We have to come to the understanding that we will never be perfect and there will always be someone displeased with us. We have to be okay with that.
ReplyDeleteBuilding a good rapport with students can be a big help in forgetting what other people think your students should do/be. You know them best and all of their small successes throughout the year. It is important for us to call out the lies that people tell us or we tell ourselves. We are all brilliant in our own ways and we need to pay attention to other people's brilliance as well and how that can be positive for us too.
Denise Allen
ReplyDeleteI would probably relate to perfectionism when it comes to imposter syndrome. This tends to appear more at home than at school. However, I recently did not get the best feed back from a walk through and it bothered me more than usual. I do not compare myself to others anymore. As I have gotten older, it doesn't matter to me if someone is doing something better or different than me.
ReplyDeleteI would say that the part I connect to the most is anxiety. Over the last few years this has became an unwelcomed area in my life that I have not been enjoying. Covid shutdown era REALLY pulled it out of me and I have been put on meds due to the panic attacks and the heart palpitations. Comparing myself to others and worrying about what others are thinking worries me more now that EVER before. And yet, compliments from others also come hard as I do not ever see what they are seeing- straight from the hearts of Angela's characteristics as well.
ReplyDeleteI think the best way I can break through this is counteract every negative comparison with some positive affirmations of "they did great at that just like you did great at...." Believing and being proud of myself has to start!
As educators we need to listen and see our own brilliance and share out the brilliance we hear about our students. Many of our students are always going to hear about their failures which will become their inner voices, and then the system continues and they will not believe in themselves either.
Fear of failure is absolutely a characteristic of imposter syndrome I relate to most, even though I feel like I had a pretty happy childhood and am not sure where I picked it up. I would say that as far back as the 4th grade, I have been terrified I would fail at something: fail a test, fail a class, forget everything at a concert, and so on. "I have failed at life" seems to resound in my head all the time. I think I mainly need to stop measuring myself against my own measures of success. My parents basically just said to me growing up to try my best; I'm not sure where I developed the major perfectionism. I do probably project some of this onto my students because I'm always shocked when students don't care that they didn't get a 100%, and I always want them to finish the book and then some of the next year's first chapters, and I probably bring up state testing too much. I could definitely dial back my own talking and let them go off on their own math "tangents" during class time at the "risk" of covering fewer standards that day. Sometimes I feel concerned about their lack of "work ethic," and other times I am jealous that they are capable of being more laid back when I can't remember the last time I was.
ReplyDeleteComparison is one of the characteristics that I relate to most. I see teachers that have good relationships with students or moms who seem to accomplish everything fantastically, and it gives me self-doubt. Over the years, I have gotten better at ignoring these triggers and focusing on the things that I am doing well, but it still sneaks up on me sometimes. Often my students will doubt their abilities because another student can speak better Spanish than they do, or because they couldn’t understand someone that spoke to them. I make a point to remind them of what they can do, and that everyone has different skills that they pick up first/more quickly. It is important to encourage my students and look for brilliance in each one of them because sometimes what we need is just a little confidence in ourselves.
ReplyDeleteI am 100% afraid of failure. I have a lot riding on everything I do. My dad was a teacher and my grandpa was a teacher at the school I currently teach at. I always want to do a good job because they did. On top of that I want to do a good job for my family. My idea of success and others may look different. I need to stop trying to please everyone and go about my day that I can't control what others think. When measuring student success we need to understand that their best may look different than others. We need to be open with our students about that and also encourage them to find the best in each other as well.
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ReplyDeleteOut of these four characteristics: anxiety, perfectionism, self doubt, fear of failure, perfectionism is the characteristic I can relate to the most. But self doubt can creep up if I’m not careful. A good way to stop measuring yourself against someone else is to reflect on how each one of us is special and has something unique to offer that no one else has. We need to embrace our uniqueness and not be afraid to share our special gifts with the world. It’s the same with our students, each student has something inside them that no one else has that makes them special. It's important as educators to encourage our students to share their ideas and perspectives and to provide a comfortable, safe environment where they feel like they can share everything they have to offer.
ReplyDeleteI think it is important for us as educators to “listen for brilliance” because our students may have strengths that we do not know about, especially if they are quiet and do not talk much. By listening for brilliance and approaching our students with this perspective, we can provide a positive, supportive learning environment and help them to develop their full potential. We can empower our students by providing different kinds of learning opportunities for them to build their self-confidence.
I can relate most to the perfectionism element of the Imposter Syndrome. I know I am my own worst enemy because my standards for myself and my performance are set higher than I expect anyone else to achieve. Anything less than what I expect from myself feels like settling.
ReplyDeleteIt is important to listen for brilliance so we can be our students' greatest cheerleaders. From our perspective as their teachers, we can spot talents and strengths that they may be unaware of. When we highlight those elements for them, who knows what will be unleashed and inspired!
Callie Dutenhoffer
ReplyDeleteThe characteristic of the imposter syndrome that I can relate to the most is being a perfectionist not only in the classroom, but at home and in my personal life as well. I don't believe that it's me comparing myself to someone else's success, but there are definitely times where that's what the voice in my head is telling me. I sometimes feel like I could be more successful if I followed through with more things on my plate.
There is always going to be different views of what success means, but I think that it is especially important to not compare our students' successes to each other, but the growth of each individual success.
When it comes to "listening for brilliance" from others, it is important that we can listen to our own as an individual. Once we can overcome the voice in our minds that we can do something about it, I believe that we'll be able to see that in others as well, especially our students.
What characteristics of the imposter syndrome can you relate to most? How can you stop measuring yourself against someone else’s idea of success? How can we stop measuring our students against someone else’s idea of success? Why is it important for us as educators to “listen for brilliance” as Lou Solomon describes in her talk, The Surprising Solution to the Imposter Syndrome?
ReplyDeleteI would relate to the perfectionist part and the anxiety part of the imposter syndrome. I believe I compare myself to others quite often in which causes large emotions, worry, and stress. I have a great support system that compliments my successes, but I always have a reason as to why I shouldn't receive that compliment.
When it comes to students, I like to measure them individually. I like to celebrate the little successes. Successes that may not be for someone else, but they have worked hard for themselves. Each student has going to have a different path of success whether it be big or small.
"Listening for brilliance" is important when gaining relationships with each student. This also allows us to provide a positive learning environment and allow them to be the best version of themselves. This will not only help their self-confidence, but mine as a teacher as well.
I think what I relate to most is thinking I didn't do anything worth noticing/awarding. I just do what I signed up to do each day, teach students and help them succeed and be successful. I have a hard time giving myself credit that I deserve sometimes, and often don't take compliments well. I also struggle with comparing myself to others at time, but I try my best to remind myself that I will do what works best for me and that may be different from other people. I think in teaching it is so important to remember that one thing can work so well for some people, but not at all for others and that is okay! I think all of these things can help me to stop comparing my success to others and their ideas of success.
ReplyDeleteAs educators it is important to "listen for brilliance" because we know our students best and we know what they need. If we do what we think is best for them instead of trying to fit in with what others are doing or think is good for us, we probably are not putting our students first.
What characteristics of the imposter syndrome can you relate to most? I think anxiety is the characteristic I can relate to the best.
ReplyDeleteHow can you stop measuring yourself against someone else’s idea of success? It isn't easy, but being positive about myself is a good first step.
How can we stop measuring our students against someone else’s idea of success? As we watch our students progress, we can measure their success this way instead of comparing them to other students.
Why is it important for us as educators to “listen for brilliance” as Lou Solomon describes in her talk, The Surprising Solution to the Imposter Syndrome? It is false to think that the students who talk the most are the most brilliant. It is important to listen for ideas from all of the students, not just the loud talkers.
Perfectionism is probably the characteristic I relate most to. As a math teacher, I make sure I do examples first to make sure I get the right answer before teaching my students. I may have to make some problems up on the fly, so anxiety also comes into play to make sure I do it correctly...I know kind of odd considering I've taught for over 20 years.
ReplyDeleteState testing - and evil way to pit us against ourselves as teachers. Immediately we know how our students compare with others across the state and within the classroom. This leads to self doubt - Ex. Did I prepare them well enough? As a teacher, we must not place this "ONE test" as the only measure of success. Focus on - have they grown as a student and a person?
"Listen for brilliance" - brilliance comes in all forms; verbal and non-verbal. Every student learns different, but also shares differently. Growing individual relationships with your students can help me as a teacher to be the best version of myself in order to give them the best opportunities to learn and be successful.
What characteristics of the imposter syndrome can you relate to most? How can you stop measuring yourself against someone else’s idea of success? How can we stop measuring our students against someone else’s idea of success? Why is it important for us as educators to “listen for brilliance” as Lou Solomon describes in her talk, The Surprising Solution to the Imposter Syndrome?
ReplyDeleteThe characteristic I relate to the most is self-doubt. I compare what I am doing with what I see others doing and then the self-doubt about my abilities begins.
I think it is hard to not compare ourselves to someone else's idea of success, especially as teachers. We get compared by the public all the time, which I think makes it harder for us to be able to step away from that.
I made a conscious effort to not compare my students to other people's idea of success. I looked at the individual student's progress and would use that as the measure, not what other's say should show success.
It is important to listen for brilliance because students show it in all sorts of ways, and it may not be what is shouted out during class. It is listening for the spoken and unspoken, the written, or even the drawn.
The characteristics I relate to most of the imposter syndrome would be anxiety and perfectionism. I REALLY struggle with the second part of this question, how do we stop measuring against someone else's ideas of success? I find I do this more for myself than for my students always wanting to be the "best". I tell my own children all the time (as well as my students) how our differences make us special/unique. I think it's one thing to say it and another to MEAN it. I think the sooner I start actually embodying and accepting this is actually true and being an example of not worrying about others, the more accepting the people looking up to me will start to genuinely believe it also. I think its important for us to "listen for brilliance" because everyone DOES have unique strengths and abilities. We could take opportunities to allow strengths of some to help build up and teach others!
ReplyDeleteWhat characteristics of the imposter syndrome can you relate to most?
ReplyDeleteProbaly the ones that I can relate the most is to not believe or take the credit and fear of failure.
Not taking credit, I stuggle because I do not like the limelight. I like to behind the scenes. I can see at times I get jeolous with those getting the praise, but now I see people thank and praise me, but then I say I don't need it. The other is fear of failure. When we have a home basketball or I run an event, a lot of the times I am thinking what is going to go wrong, when in the end everything works out. I need to remind myself that God is in control, and whatever happens happens.
How can you stop measuring yourself against someone else’s idea of success?
I think the first is to be my self. I can only control myself. My go to Bible passage is: Psalm 139:14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. This tells me God made all of us wonderful and unique.
How can we stop measuring our students against someone else’s idea of success?
We need to treat each student as an individual and remember that no two students are a like. We need to listen to them and encourage them.
Why is it important for us as educators to “listen for brilliance” as Lou Solomon describes in her talk, The Surprising Solution to the Imposter Syndrome?
If we don't listen for brilliance, we may miss out on a great idea or even squash someone's dreams. We need to encourage and build people up so they believe in themselves and succeed. If we don't listen, self-esteem can go down, instead of up, and it takes time for low self-esteem to grow back up to normal or high self-esteem.
I can relate to perfectionism and fear of failure the most. These characteristics cause me to place too much emphasis on my own performance and not enough focus on doing my best and letting God do the rest.
ReplyDeleteI think success has come to be defined in narrow, superficial ways by our culture. These are not the orders I march to as a rule, but society does place an unspoken pressure to conform to one ideal.
We can begin to see our students as uniquely made people, rather than robots in need of programming. As no two fingerprints are alike, no two people have the same gifts or abilities. Begin to celebrate who students are & bring out their best.
Some students will be brilliant in ways that a classroom does not easily showcase. Look for opportunities to highlight a child's ambition, love for hard work, passion for a hobby or interest, love for family....things that are not necessarily academic. Then they may begin to thrive in scholastic efforts too.
Self doubt is what I relate to most. I wonder if I am doing enough, am I passionate enough, am I using enough strategies to hit all my students. Should I list success criteria for every lesson? What happens when I don't? Am I really giving it my all? Why aren't my kids learning more?
ReplyDeleteI try to remind myself that everyday I show up to be my best self and I give my best effort with what I know, the energy I have, and the love I would show my own child. If it is what I would do for my own child, than I know I am doing my best. I always try to assume that everyone shows up with positive intentions. No one comes to school and says, "I am going to do just ok today." We all come to do what is best for kids and I need to assume that about myself as well.
Listening for Brillance is the ability to speak confidence into someone, maybe even yourself. It the exact enemy of the imposter synrdome. If we want people to do big things, we must speak it into them they they can do it.
The characteristic of the imposter syndrome that I can relate to most would be perfectionism. I've always set a very high standard for myself, and any big mistakes I've made over the years seem to stick with me for a long time.
ReplyDeleteI have to be intentional with my thinking in order to stop measuring myself against other people's ideas of success. I have to remind myself of my own values and priorities, and stop any comparison I'm making with those around me. I do think becoming a mom and just getting older in general has helped me let go of caring so much about other's opinions.
I think we can stop measuring our students against someone else's idea of success BY "listening for brilliance" and working to get to know each of our students. Every student has their strengths, and that is something I wish I would've taken more time to consider/explore when I was teaching. As an educator and just as a human being, I think it's important to take advantage of any opportunity to compliment, encourage, and lift up others. So often, we don't realize what a few kind words can mean to a person.
I think I can most relate to self doubt and anxiety. I feel these things creep into my thoughts both with my profession as well as being a mother. That constant thought of am I doing enough in all areas of life and am I passionate enough each day in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteI think it is really challenging to stop comparing or measuring yourself to someone elses ideas. Especially in this world of social media and feeling the need to compare yourself. Putting my family and children first in all situations really helps me not care about others opinions.
I truly believe that all children learn-- not in the same way or the same day. That helps remind me to stop listening to others ideas of success. Especially those that don't work or directly involved in education. I think finding strength areas in each of our children and highlighting those is so important. Individualized learning vs comparison.
Listening for brilliance as an educator means to get to know each student. Creating a positive relationship and finding strengths in all of our kiddos and coworkers. Going the extra mile to be kind.
I can relate a lot to the self doubt and comparing my self to what some of the amazing teachers in my building are doing. I think I can help stop this by acknowledging those great things that are happening around and taking them into my classroom, but also by knowing that I too care about my students and am doing great things. Knowing that all teachers are trying their best, just like me is helpful. I think we can also be looking at the students individually, not as a group, and celebrate their accomplishments. Everyone's learning and goals are different and should be celebrated. I think it's important to "listen for brilliance" so that we can celebrate all of the victories from our students, small or large. We need to get to know them and pay attention so we see those things.
ReplyDeleteFor me, imposter syndrome shows up in feeling that I “haven’t earned” my seat at the teacher’s table. Why do I feel this? I have no idea. I think some of it stems from being an introvert and some from not having had any interest in teaching until college (I was so against teaching that it was one of two careers that I was NEVER going to consider….obviously things changed). I also think some of my feelings come from looking up to some very well-versed writers, professors, and speakers, and wondering how on earth I could ever teach to that level of wonderful. In reflection, I think that looking at myself as a constant work in progress, and focusing on a question like, “What can I do better today or right now?” might be a better way to fight imposter syndrome.
ReplyDeleteFor my students, seeing them as individuals with different strengths and weaknesses is imperative. The “brilliance” that Solomon describes may not be the same brilliance that I see in those professionals that I look up to, but rather, it’s brilliance on a level that is attainable for my students. Recognizing (and verbalizing) moments of valuable insight by my students is something that I could always improve upon. Everyone appreciates and gets a boost from recognition and I could certainly pepper my teaching with more of it!
"Listen for Brilliance" Wow. I am thankful that over the years I have felt that my career is my calling. Because of this, I just do the best I can each and every moment. Do I fail - yes! Do I compare myself to others - continually. My weakness is that I wonder why I'm not noticed more or sought out more for advice but truly, is that why I teach? The best way I can help to stop listening to the Imposter in my head is to trust the fact that I am doing what I am called to do. If my career path needs to be one other than teaching, I hope I am open enough to see it and more on. "Listen for Brilliance" is going on my whiteboard in my classroom. A constant reminder that most of what we hear are the thoughts in our head...the choice to listen is ours.
ReplyDeleteThe characteristic of the imposter syndrome that I can relate to the most is constantly focusing on what I do wrong rather than finding something I did right. I can definitely relate to this as I had a coach that would say I was falling for the ‘self-fulfilling prophecy.’ If I was always telling myself that I couldn’t do something, then that would be how I would do it. You can stop measuring yourself against someone else’s idea of success by taking a moment, taking a breath, and stop living in ultimatums. Perfection will never be attainable. Giving yourself grace and stop holding yourself to an unattainable standard can free you from having to reach someone else’s idea of “success.” You can stop measuring students against someone else’s idea of success by focusing on what they are good at. Just like you, they are not going to be good at everything, it’s impossible. But by focusing on what they are good at will help them to realize it too and make leaps and bounds on progress, rather than trying to fit them into some bubble that you or someone else has created. It is important as educators to “listen for brilliance” because lies and limiting beliefs can isolate you. And that is not how life is meant to be lived.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad the author went so in depth with imposter syndrome. In a subject area (band) that is often filled with contests and auditions and competitions, it can be very easy to compare my students' accomplishments to those of their peers in other schools. When other schools have several students attending an All-State event, where as I struggle to even have students audition, it can quickly become disheartening. I have to constantly remind myself of the quote, "comparison is the thief of joy." I know that my students work hard, and they overcome unbelievable obstacles in order to be successful in music and sports. A win for us and our program looks very different compared to a school that does not face the same challenges. So instead of comparing and being better than anyone else, I like to take the approach of being better than WE were yesterday. As long as we can confidently say that we are moving forward and accomplishing our goals, nothing else matters, and it takes the focus of of me and puts it back where it needs to be, which is on the success of the students. For my own personal teaching needs, I've also started to look a little more critically at what my colleagues do, not from the standpoint of is it right or wrong, but from the standpoint of, how can I take what they are doing and make it work for me, or what ideas can I take from this teacher and apply to my room. It takes the comparison part out of it and leaves me with good ideas to use in my own teaching.
ReplyDeleteWhat characteristics of the imposter syndrome can you relate to most? The feeling of not being good enough, especially when the expert come in and tell us how to do things. How can you stop measuring yourself against someone else’s idea of success? I am getting better at this. It is easy for others who don't deal with kids to tell those of us who do, how we should do it. I do my best every day and that is all I can do. How can we stop measuring our students against someone else’s idea of success? When I see their success, I take time to celebrate it, even though it might not be what others expect.
ReplyDeleteWhy is it important for us as educators to “listen for brilliance” as Lou Solomon describes in her talk, The Surprising Solution to the Imposter Syndrome? Seeing brilliance in our students and ourselves is a positive step in recognizing everyone's worth.
I can really relate to those moments of self-doubt and anxiety. They usually come to mind both at work and home, especially at home with my child. I often find myself wondering if I'm truly excelling in all areas of my life and if I'm bringing enough compassion to my classroom every single day. It's a constant battle not to compare myself to others, especially with social media showcasing everyone's highlight reels. on things like TikTok, Instagram, Facebook. However, I'm learning to prioritize my family and child first, which helps me stay grounded in what truly matters. It is in my teaching philosophy that every child learns uniquely and at their own pace, reminding me to steer clear of society's narrow view of success, especially from those who aren't in the education field. As an educator, listening for brilliance means creating genuine connections with every student, celebrating their individual strengths, and fostering positive relationships with both students and colleagues.
ReplyDeleteI wrote this blog post.
DeleteI relate the most to the comparison aspect of Imposter Syndrome. I work with a lot of great educators and I have definitely had moments where I wished I could make my classroom look like that of another teacher. However, this isn't helpful as I can't just mimic someone else and expect the same results. By reading this book, and others, I have learned that I need to stop trying to be like other teachers in my building and find things that work for me specifically and use them. We all offer our own unique things to our classroom that can make an impact on students, so we need to focus on those instead of comparing ourselves to other teachers.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to the self doubt and comparison aspect of Imposter Syndrome. I am constantly doubting my decisions as a teacher and mom and also comparing myself to other teachers and moms. I can stop measuring my success by comparing it to others success by remembering that everyone's definition of success is different and the only on that should matter is mine. Measuring student's success needs to be measuring not solely on test scores, but that each child is feeling successful and cared for when they leave the classroom at the end of the day. It's important for educators to "listen for brilliance" because brilliance is something that can be shown in many different ways. Each child needs to be taught to be proud of their own unique brilliance and use it to better themselves and help others.
ReplyDeleteWhat characteristics of the imposter syndrome can you relate to most? How can you stop measuring yourself against someone else’s idea of success? How can we stop measuring our students against someone else’s idea of success? Why is it important for us as educators to “listen for brilliance” as Lou Solomon describes in her talk, The Surprising Solution to the Imposter Syndrome?
ReplyDeleteThe characteristics of imposter syndrome that I relate the most to are anxiety and self doubt. I struggle with my anxiety generally speaking from time to time regarding all kinds of things. My self doubt creeps in a lot at work. I am the only health care provider in my school, and this is only my second year doing this kind of work. I find myself constantly wondering if I am making the right choices, doing what another nurse who has been doing this longer would do, do the parents and staff like me and trust me? The speaker stated in her TED talk that once you understand the imposter syndrome, you can do something about it - rather than listening to that voice in your head, try to weed out the lies and limited beliefs and listen to your own "valiant hero".
Instead of measuring students against others, we can recognize what makes them special and unique all on their own. By focusing on how far they have come can really build them up, instead of comparing where they are at to those around them. I think it is so important to "listen for brilliance" for this exact reason. Everyone has something to offer and something that makes them great, as educators we can help students recognize this and know that we see them shining can help build that self-confidence and self-esteem and hopefully negate feelings of imposter syndrome.
Comparing ourselves is human nature. However, we can train ourselves to look for actions, mindsets, wording, behaviors, etc. in others that we want to add to our repertoire, not replace. What we are doing is wrong. We are just looking for new stuff to enhance what we already do. And sometimes what other people do doesn't work for us and that is okay! It doesn't mean they are better or right. It just means it works for them. Our students are no different. I worked for several years with middle school EL students. If you looked at their state test scores, I was a horrible teacher and they were not successful students. However, that test score didn't tell the story. Most of my students came to me grade levels behind in skills and not just missing language. When given a growth model type of assessment, my students gained multiple years of skills in one year, they just had not caught up to their peers, yet. By the time they reached their first year of high school, the majority of my students were taking grade level, non-EL courses and passing with flying colors. But no one would have predicted that based on their state test scores in middle school. Our students are more than just test scores and should never be compared to each other. I'm all for assessments - they can tell me what my students understood and where they still need more support and practice. The scores can show me general trends. They just can't tell me the end all about my students.
ReplyDeleteOf the four characteristics of imposter syndrome mentioned in the video, I struggle most with perfectionism and self-doubt. I have always been a perfectionist, but I do think I have gotten better with that in recent years. However, I do have self-doubt when I compare myself to other teachers. It's hard for me to see how other teachers do things differently and then not start comparing myself to them or thinking about how they do things better than I do.
ReplyDeleteI think Lou's suggestion of just noticing when these voices show up in my head is a good first step in trying to stop measuring myself against someone's idea of success. I have to trust in the fact that I am educated and have a lot of experience and that I'm doing the best I can at all times.
In order to stop measuring my students against someone else's idea of success, I have to remind myself that there are so many factors that contribute to success, and just looking at one or two factors doesn't paint the whole picture. For some kids, coming to school five days a week after I have a one-on-one conversation with them is a success! We as teachers know our students better than most people, so we know success when we see it.
Listening for brilliance is important because everyone demonstrates brilliance, and the more we can listen for it, recognize it, and compliment our students on their brilliance, the more they will start to believe it themselves and the less they will doubt themselves, compare themselves to other students, or feel like they have to be perfect in order to be successful.
I feel like the characteristics that I relate to the most is anxiety and self-doubt. I have a lot of anxiety about doing and saying the right things and then it will consume me for a little while. I also doubt what I am doing and that I have done what I need to do on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteI need to do a better job of being aware when these feeling arise and change the way I think about each situation. Look at it in a different perspective.
I think knowing our students and knowing their abilities, taking the time to talk to them can help us not measure their success by someone else's is standards. I think continuously reminding myself that each student is different can help me look at each scenario differently. This will play into listening for brilliance. Observe students in different ways to see how they are learning can help us eliminate comparing each child to a certain level of success.
I can relate a lot to comparison, and have been able to recognize it over the past few months. I realized that I would find myself constantly feeling less than after spending time on social media, due to comparison. My house wasn't perfect like I saw, my kids weren't as smart and well-behaved as those kids, I wasn't going on elaborate vacations, my husband didn't do major romantic gestures. I realized that I didn't feel as though I was missing something or less than until I compared myself to what I was seeing on social media. This caused me to unfollow people that were triggering these thoughts and to overall spend less time on my phone. I still fall into the trap sometimes, but it's improved a lot.
ReplyDeleteI don't work directly with other school nurses, as they're in their own schools, but I do compare and have self-doubt about what doing versus what they're doing. I have also compared myself to the previous nurse, whose position I took over, and wondered if she had done a better job at certain aspects. It's caused me to have self-doubt in my job and the decisions that I was making.
I think its important to "listen for the brilliance" in schools, we have the ability to see each student in such a unique way that we can foster what is truly special about them. We have the opportunity to spend the school year (maybe a few years even) and really get to know the students strengths and help build self-confidence in each of them.
The two characteristics I can relate to the most are anxiety and perfectionism. So many things to get done during your day. Someday's simply getting to the bathroom was just impossible. Between classes you have hallway duty, but you wanted to greet students at your door as they entered. There were also those classes where you had some immature students who needed the extra eye and were into everything. How were you to perform hall duty, greet students, answer email to parent, who wanted their answer right now, and watch the immature students, who were always there early? Some how, it all got done but you were not able to get to the bathroom. Those were the killer days, teaching was the easy part on those days.
ReplyDeleteI always wondered if I was covering material clearly enough for understanding. Was there something I could do better? What did make me feel better was having students regurgitate what we just did, for example reading chemical equations. I never felt perfect but I also never felt like a failure. I enjoyed watching other teachers and learning but I also believe variety is good. I think having a variety of pedagogy in the building is a good thing for the students. Otherwise you have a cookie cutter school, how could you reach every student that way? I think by being team players we can shake things up together and reach all students.
I am definitely someone who feels very uncomfortable with someone complimenting me. Thoughts such as "why would they think that?" automatically come to my mind when receiving a compliment. Tying in this week's reading of FTB, I am going to make being my "authentic self" and living a life that reflects what I truly believe in, a priority. I feel like living in this manner will help cultivate self-confidence and diminish imposter syndrome.
ReplyDeleteThis goes along with my students as well. I think so often as a teacher I am trying to cram in as much teaching as I can to ensure that students will meet standards that don't often match where that student is at academically. I need to continue to try to create an environment that allows students to be their authentic selves and to believe in themselves. When students feel comfortable and confident, that is when their unique brilliance will appear and flourish-and optimal growth in learning and life will occur.
Oh man, I have struggled with all the characteristics of imposter syndrome. In recent years, I have worked hard to work through perfectionism, but anxiety has overwhelmed me completely for various reasons. Becoming a parent has both made me struggle more with anxiety and self doubt while also emboldening me to confidently call out my "Ms. Vader" in order to become a better wife and mom.
ReplyDeleteIn a school setting, it's often the loudest, most active students who end up demanding our attention. I love the idea of noticing the quieter students but in a subtle way rather than calling them out by name, etc. I like the idea of always striving to meet students where they are and noticing and listening for brilliance... being curious about the subtle ways we might find it in our students.
I have all the characteristics, but anxiety is what I relate to the most. Anxiety is intertwined with the other characteristics in all areas of my life. A big step I took to stop measuring myself to others is keeping a distance from social media. It is easy to start doubting yourself in many areas when you spend a lot of time scrolling and seeing other people’s lives through social media. With your students you need to remind yourself that everyone is different. Everyone leaves at different speeds and everyone is brilliant in different ways. Celebrate the uniqueness and individual brilliance of each student instead of comparing.
ReplyDeleteI can definitely relate the imposter syndrome, especially during my first few years of teaching. Since I was trying to figure out who I was as a teacher, I was often looking to others and often comparing myself. It has become better this year as I've felt more comfortable with the type of teacher I am and my ability to for positive relationships with students. I am also better at not comparing myself to others or caring about what they think (for the most part). I try to be my authentic self every day and hope that students will start to feel confident in their true selves as opposed to being the type of person others (or the internet) tells them they need to be.
ReplyDeleteI think at times I can relate to all of the characteristics of imposter syndrome. It can be a hard thing to get yourself out of and definitely takes me being mindful of it to snap out of it. From a young age, I think that I was conditioned to always get things done perfectly and over the course of time, that just made things worse. Even now when I'm not actively teaching, I have to remind myself in my workload that it is ok if I make a mistake from time to time. For me, having the right support team around me is definitely helpful. I try and model this for my teammates and the people who report to me and give words of encouragement to not let themselves fall into the same trap. For students, I think it is important that they see this behavior modeled by trusted adults as well.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I can relate to all the characteristics of the imposter syndrome. I struggle the most with perfectionism and anxiety. I often feel overwhelmed with all the daily requirements and around this time of year there are tons of extra requirements. I always want my lesson plans organized and perfect. I have high expectations for my students. Sometimes I need to just let that go and know that I am trying my best and if a lesson doesn't go completely perfect that is ok! It is hard not to measure myself against other teachers. If I see that they are doing something, I feel like I should be doing that too. If our team works together and shares ideas that can help and we don't put that extra pressure on ourselves. Listening for brilliance is important in every classroom. All students demonstrate brilliance in their own way. In our school we have a high population of ELL students. Brilliance could be viewed very differently in my classroom versus someone else's. We need to recognize each student's successes and celebrate them. I think this also builds their confidence and helps them not to compare themselves to others. If you create a positive classroom it also extends to the students and they start to compliment and notice their classmates successes.
ReplyDeleteThe imposter syndrome I can relate to the most is anxiety. I have a great deal of anxiety when it comes to being prepared for the week. If I don't have all lessons ready to go by the time I leave on Friday, I can't seem to relax all weekend. I have anxiety when it comes to having my classroom, students, everything, just right at all times.
ReplyDeleteOne way to stop measuring myself to others is by limiting myself from social media. It's easy for everyone to post how perfect their lives are on social media, but it's hard to remember that everyone "has skeletons in their closet" and their lives aren't really that perfect.
What characteristics of the imposter syndrome can you relate to most?
ReplyDeleteI believe that I relate most with Anxiety and Fear of Failure.
How can you stop measuring yourself against someone else’s idea of success?
I wish I could stop measuring myself against others. I need to work on reminding myself that I am successful.
How can we stop measuring our students against someone else’s idea of success?
I do not believe that we can stop measuring students against others as long as we have standardize testing.
Why is it important for us as educators to “listen for brilliance” as Lou Solomon describes in her talk, The Surprising Solution to the Imposter Syndrome?
I would say self-doubt is the characteristic that I relate to the most. I find myself doubting my teaching abilities when I get caught up in the "comparison game". I'm an introverted teacher, so I'll compare myself to the extroverts and think I'm not connecting well enough with the kids. Or, I'll worry that I'm not as smart as another teacher in my building. I usually stop myself from worrying about being an imposter by reminding myself that I have other gifts and talents that other teachers don't have -- and that my kids are doing just fine. :) I think this is a good reminder for students dealing with imposter syndrome: reminding them to stop focusing on the gifts and talents that they don't have, and instead focus on the gifts and talents that they do have.
ReplyDeleteI related to this video so much right away because of her story about her alcoholic father and verbal abuse. I unfortunately have a very personal connection to that with similar results. My dad had very high expectations and expected nothing less than the best. He had his PhD and education, and hierarchy were very important to him. I could also relate to the vulnerability portion about never give up, never ask for help, never let them see you sweat because you just had to “grin and bear it” and pull yourself up by your bootstraps. I feel this has greatly impacted my emotional state and has contributed to the imposter syndrome within myself with self-doubt.
ReplyDeleteI need to do a better job of understanding myself and knowing my limits and where I excel, then I can measure my success in my own personal scale and not against anyone else’s measurements. I have anxiety with feelings of overwhelming self-doubt at times, and I need to understand that people don’t view me the same way I view myself and that’s okay. I have my own levels of success and my standards for myself are much higher than anyone expects from me. I don’t need to complete my 20 item to-do list to feel like I accomplished a “successful weekend,” because it’s my own standards not anyone else’s. Even small wins are still a win, and I need to pay attention to my own brilliance and not worry about others’. I am quite a perfectionist and this can lead to a spiral downfall quickly.
I like that she said “listening for brilliance” doesn’t take much, simple things like “I noticed you’re really gifted at this” are enough to break the cycle and reset your thinking. I think being aware of these negative thoughts and ways to change your beliefs are vital to the success we can have as educators so we can help crawl out of the barrel together.