Another example of a great teacher is a teacher named Nicole. I was lucky enough to work with her for four years, and she was very good. The thing that set her apart was that she knew she was destined to be a teacher. When she was young, she'd play school and make it relevant to her play dates. So for her, showing up to school is living her dream job. And students love her. They don't simply like and respect her, she's rather the rare one that can connect.

Since she's doing her passion, teaching, she does really cool things. She has her students act in plays, do things in the community, and take part if very meaningful field trips.

While students love her, some teachers were threatened. The ones that were threatened were the older teachers that had been doing their thing for a while with very mixed results; so when a younger, enthusiastic teacher came in, had instant success, and showed a fast-track to being the lead: they were threatened. They talked shit. Tried to beat her down. Insulted her practice. Called her young. Made insinuations. But she didn't cave.

Instead, she brought her A-game (more on that here: Get your foot in the door and bring your a-game. Great podcast. Please rate and review on iTunes.) After a few months, the older teachers shit-talking got bland and boring, and Nicole was still relevant and fresh. So they started asking her questions, taking her advice, and even became better teachers.

Nicole was asked to be the chair of her department and led meetings with the same enthusiasm. She did very well. I applaud Nicole. We'd be just fine if we were all like her.