Letting go of your ego is the first step to real growth as a teacher. The more you reflect, seek advice, and learn from your mistakes, the better you’ll become-not just for your students, but for yourself.
Your ego is the first thing you should let go of before instructing any class. If you look back and reflect objectively, you will notice how much you have grown as a teacher over time, whether in your planning, ability to connect with students, or conflict resolution skills. That is why it is critical to remember that, while you may be a better teacher today than you were yesterday, you are still a worse teacher than you will be tomorrow, especially if you are reading this, which indicates that you genuinely want to improve as an educator.
What Does “Ego” Actually Mean for Teachers?
Remember, ego isn’t the same as confidence or self-respect. Those are essential. Ego is different. It’s that voice in your head that says:
- “I already know how to teach this”
- “That feedback doesn’t apply to me”
- “Admitting mistakes makes me look weak”
Ego protects you from discomfort, but discomfort is where growth happens.
Accept External Advice.
Do not be afraid to seek advice from outside sources, such as teachers in other subjects or even family and friends. There’s always something valuable to gain from their perspectives.
At first, I found it very difficult to accept advice from teachers in other subjects, since after all, their subjects were different from mine. Not to mention listening to advice from family or friends. What would they know about teaching Physical Education? Well, not much, to be honest. Still, if even a little bit of what they said helped me improve, it would have been worth listening to. You can get something from everything.
The quality of advice depends more on how we interpret it than on who gives it.
Learn from Mistakes
Don’t worry about making mistakes, because everyone has had bad lessons that they’re not proud of. The difference between teachers who grow and teachers who stagnate is simple: one group reflects on what went wrong and looks for ways to improve. The other group blames external factors and moves on.
I myself have made many mistakes over time, some of which I’ve managed to fix, and others I’m still working on. For instance, I used to spend too little time on the final reflection of a lesson, but I changed that, and it has undoubtedly improved the quality of my classes. Students started making connections I’d never heard before. They articulated learning I didn’t even know was happening.
Many lessons fail because of circumstances outside your control, like student attitudes or timing issues. But some fail because of decisions you made.
Acknowledge Your Errors
One of the best ways to combat your ego and evolve as a teacher is by acknowledging your mistakes. We are looking to educate honest students, so when you model this, you teach them that growth comes from acknowledging mistakes, not hiding them.
Just as many lessons can go wrong due to external factors or the attitude of certain students, teachers can make mistakes too. Recognizing your mistakes, even in front of your students, is always a step forward in the journey of self-improvement.
The Ego Check
So let me ask you this: when was the last time you admitted you were wrong? Not just to yourself in private reflection, but out loud. To a colleague. To your students.
If you can’t remember, your ego might be running the show. And that means you’re not growing.
