“I make the moves up as I go…. I’m lightning on my feet.” Taylor Swift
I relate to those song lyrics on a deep level, especially in teaching. Sometimes, the lesson doesn’t go as planned and I need a spur of the moment idea. Sometimes, my principal walks in for an unscheduled observation and I have to think of a winning, engaging lesson right then and there.
But usually, I’m not feeling the lesson I had planned so I have to think of something real quick to fill the time.
Let me tell you though, all of my spur of the moment ideas are always winners. They are honestly better then things I spend weeks planning. I think I do my best thinking under pressure and when I make it up. Can’t think too much about it!
Do you fly by the seat of your pants sometimes while teaching? Do you get your best ideas spur of the moment too?
Confessions of a Real Teacher 
Yep! Right there with you!! Thanks for writing it! I wish on those days I did a better job of reflecting and writing that idea down. Although, I must say, what works for one group of kids may not work with the next. That what makes spontaneity so delightful 🙂 Cheers to more good luck!
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I am so glad you wrote this post! I feel the same way and in fact plan on writing a post called “FOMO in my teaching” or something like that because that is what I am attributing my “flying by the seat of my pants” attitude to!
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I always over plan and then do things totally out of plan. I think I’m a “fly by the seat of your pants” girl at heart, though.
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Yes, but only if I’ve prepared first. I love it when I come up with really good lesson ideas on the fly, though.
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Seat of my pants- it’s the only way to fly! I see those blank faces when the planned lesson it not getting it done and out comes the runway and we take off. I actually, like you, like the spontaneous better sometimes. I need the plans to reign me in and keep me focused on the objective, but the plan itself is often very different from what I do.
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Oh that is so true! I need plans to make sure we don’t get too off topic.
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