How to Determine your Niche in Education

How to Determine Your

Niche in Education

I’ve stated more than once, that I always knew I wanted to be a teacher. After I became a teacher, I realized there were parts of the biz I excelled at and others…well, that weren't my forte. The teams that I have been surrounded by have shown me the variety of teachers that are out there, as well as that each of them is needed. My focus has been on the curriculum. I love creating experiences for students – no matter the age or subject area. That’s what I hope to share with my other colleagues – the ones who are strong data analysts, the ones who don’t like to plan, but can perform and deliver a lesson better than a show on Broadway, the ones who grow their lessons out of relationships in their class or current events in their districts. Hopefully, my planning and experiences can help you be stronger in your niche.

Do we ever stop to think; I could NOT do my job without Mr. or Mrs…. because they are so strong at
XYZ, where I am not? My second teaching partner was a math guru. Seriously. She taught second
grade for 20+ years and was moved to High Ability 4th grade where I saw her passion and desire to
learn rival the kids! Math is the lowest on my totem pole of exciting things to do in class. Literature and
science are my jam, followed by a healthy dose of social studies. All of these lend themselves (in my
eyes) to an interactive experience that gets everyone involved. Students, teachers, and anyone else
who can join. The project-based (and problem-based) learning that comes from these content areas is
overwhelmingly “awesome.”

After all of that, my Math Guru taught me the opposite. We started combining geometry cities in math,
with government and rules in social studies. After reading a novel, we mathematically engineered a
bridge to hold the weight of the main character (I know, I know…that’s science, too). For our Kid
President projects, we had to determine the total population of people we would affect with our efforts
and then figure out the weight of the donations to be able to deliver them safely and fairly.
As I latched on to various ways to bring math curriculum to life, we had to determine who would walk
us through the “data analysis” of our adventures. Although students (and possibly their teacher) were
enjoying math now, what we had to determine if they were getting the skills that were needed to be
“successful” in the next step. Our teammate helped us figure out what to track and how to keep it
manageable with RTI and IEPs and the typical testing deadlines.

I challenge you – what is YOUR teaching niche? Where do you fit in the vast number of teachers we

have? Do not feel that you have to be a cookie-cutter teacher and be good at curriculum AND data

AND “performing a lesson” AND…find out what you bring to the table and partner and work with those
who have their own unique abilities within our great profession.