Avengers, Assemble - SOL20 Day 4

A year ago today, the school social worker stopped me in the hallway to tell me that a couple of my 
students had gone to her to tell her how much they liked having me as a student teacher. Before I could 
get too excited she said, “Maybe you’re an amazing teacher, but I also think that they just like having a 
break from your Cooperating Teacher.” 
What a way to ruin the moment. 

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Today, this memory that showed up in my feed caused me to reflect about the people that I work with.
It always amazes me when people who are so different from each other can come together for a 
common good. I once taught a lesson where I used the plot and characters from “The Avengers” as a 
metaphor for working on a group project. Let’s use that same metaphor to consider my middle school 
team (using pseudonyms, of course):
First, there’s Anthony, the World History and Bible teacher. He is the Tony Stark of the group. He is 
extremely intelligent and a bit prideful, but a total softy at heart.
Then, there’s Anne, the Science teacher. She is the Captain America of the group. She can do no 
wrong, is always right, and always has a solution to a problem.
Next, there’s Jenna, the Math teacher. It feels a little mean to call her the Hulk of the group, but...
I’ll just leave it at that.
Of course we have our Principal, the Nick Fury of our group. He is the fearless leader that brought us 
all together for such a time as this. 
Lastly, there’s me. I would love to call myself the Black Widow of the group: smooth, gorgeous, and 
kicking butt left and right. I’d also love to be the Thor of the group - I’ve got the hair for it. However, I’m 
more of the Hawkeye of the group. I’m the “yes man” and I go with the flow. I offer ideas when they’re 
needed, but besides that, I pretty much just do what I’m told. 
Together, we form a team that is unstoppable when faced with the perils of middle school. Our villains 
take the form of helicopter parents, last minute meetings, lovesick middle schoolers, and endless 
“pranks”.
Like any team of people, we don’t always see eye-to-eye. We have our tense moments, but so did the
real Avengers. Through it all, I’m thankful for this rag-tag team of heroes by my side.

We are better together than we are on our own. Avengers, assemble.

Comments

  1. What a fun analogy. This makes me think about my team and how we are all so different. For fun this Christmas, we all took an online personality quiz at 16personalities.com. I don't think we've ever had so much fun learning about each other. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. It's great to have a solid team at your school! It takes a village to teach children, and if you have support, it can get you through your bad days and bring your joy to share your happy days. Glad your school is such an amazing group of superheroes :)

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  3. I love how you compare your colleagues to characters. And as a middle school teacher I love how you name the villainns: Our villains
    take the form of helicopter parents, last minute meetings, lovesick middle schoolers, and endless “pranks”. Your writing shows how much you are enjoying the diverse group you get to work with.

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