The noted author and interviewer Studs Terkel once observed that people aren't looking for a job, but rather for a calling, since jobs aren't big enough for people. This activity is designed (1) to help you identify where you stand on a number of major life issues and (2) to help you explore whether these "fit" with the major commitment which you have taken on as you enter the teaching profession.

In our view, the "big picture" issues of who you are, what you believe, and why you choose to be in the teaching profession in the first place deserve the careful scrutiny of every teacher. And if these issues give meaning to your being a teacher, then many of the specific competencies necessary to be a good teacher will take care of themselves over time. If, on the other hand, these issues do not give meaning to your being a teacher, all your good training and all your good intentions will not be enough to reconcile the basic mismatch between you and the profession.

Take a few moments now, follow the directions below, and begin to explore your calling as a teacher.

Directions: (1) Print the table (this page or the printer friendly version). (2) Cut out each cell. (3) Sort the cells from most to least important. (4) After you have completed sorting, reflect on what your responses mean to you. That is, why are the items at the top of your list important to you? What clusters of items are related? And, perhaps most importantly, do your behaviors indeed reflect what you say is important?

Printer Friendly Table

BELONGING

To feel a strong sense of mutual connection with family, friends, your work, a cause, etc.
CONTROL
To have a felt sense of personal power in your own life
CREATIVITY
To have opportunities in your work and/or personal life to create new and original ideas, concepts, programs, etc.
GROWTH / LEARNING

To have ongoing opportunities in your life for personal growth and development
HEALTH / WELLNESS
To be actively involved in maintaining and enhancing your overall well-being
INDEPENDENCE
To have freedom of thought and action in your personal and work life
LEISURE / LIFESTYLE
To structure your life in a way which affords you enough leisure time and/or a preferred lifestyle
PLEASURE

To enjoy life

PRINCIPLES

To live life in harmony with a personally meaningful ethical code or set of principles
SERVICE
To contribute to the betterment of the life of others
SPIRITUALITY
To be connected with an integrating positive force in the universe (God, higher power, consciousness, nature etc.)

WORK

To engage in endeavors, paid or unpaid, which are satisfying to self and of benefit to society
Now that you have finished your initial sort, here's a quick way to double-check that they truly reflect your priorities.
  • Look at the LAST item on your list, then pretend that we're going to steal it from you forever. Do the same in turn for all the other items on the list, working from the bottom up.
  • If your rearranged list is accurate for you at this point in time, then the general life issues of absolutely most importance to you are the ones you want to protect most strongly, and which therefore need to be at the top of your list.