What’s Your Brand?

“Branding is what people say about you when you are not in the room.”

-   Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon

We have four Mondays before that bell rings again!  Summer has come and it is on its way out.  However, there are still a few more moments of silence, moments to think about the upcoming school year and what’s next on the agenda as it relates to education and our students. In these moments of quiet, I begin to question choices that I made last year, students that I didn’t quite reach the way that I wanted to and lastly, what my impact was.  AS an educator, your best moments are not the moments that people remember, they are the moments that you cherish, but to everyone else, they are just moments.  You don’t get pats on the back for every great idea or lesson and certainly not accolades for every student that crosses your threshold, but you do have an incredible impact and that impact is your legacy or brand.  When I first began teaching, one of my colleagues said when you “teach after” people, you are able to see what or how they taught.  I trembled when I heard that for the first time because I certainly don’t ever want the next teacher to think that I just “taught”.  I want them to understand that I strive to make a positive impact on all of my students!  If your brand is truly what people “say about you when you are not in the room”, what do you want it to be?  Do you want people to say that you coddle your kids or that you play all day or that you teach to the test or that your kids experience the “sit and get” method more than they should or that you teach from bell to bell or that you create unforgettable experiences!  I’m not sure if I’m ever concerned about what that brand is to my colleagues *(only the people evaluating my performance)*, but I’m hopeful that my brand or impact is meaningful to my students.  How do you feel about your brand; what’s your impact?