Vulnerability and Self Care

A response to the Thought Vectors and Nuggets Activity
created by Jessica Pearce (@jessica.pearce)

Number of views: 255

Here is the passage that I wanted to focus on from the Vulnerability and Self Care Partchbook:

“All the while slipping down a rabbit hole where questioning my relevance ignites a trepidation that consumes my motivation…and I find myself stuck in a holding pattern, where I’m discrediting my ups, magnifying my downs. Wrapping myself in a tattered quilt of doubt made up of patches whose very purpose is to distort my notions of belongingness, worth, identity.” 

 This passage resonated with me. As a faculty member, I sometimes doubt my knowledge. If a student asks me a question and I don’t know something, I can feel like a failure as a teacher or question why I’m teaching a particular subject. This can lead me to “magnifying my downs,” especially when I’m stressed with lesson planning and grading. I have learned over the years that it’s impossible to be living library on a particular subject and there are things that I simply have to research/look into more and then get back to students on. I also have to change my outlook and appreciate things about my teaching practice, including how much knowledge I have and how great I am with students and curriculum design.