A Simple Exercise To Redefine Your Identity as a Teacher
How many of you have answered the question “what do you do?” and answered with “I am just a teacher” or “I’m only a teacher.”
Cringe, right?
I’ve done it too. And to be honest as someone who left teaching and is now back I feel the tug to justify why leaving the corporate scene and moving back to education was the best move.
Regardless, you gotta believe in 2025 that teachers aren’t “just” teachers. They are so much more than that. I mean if you are just talking about what is done in the classroom you could make a laundry list of the skills teachers use on a daily basis that would blow a non-teachers mind…
Data analyst
Content creator
Marketing and communications
Emotional support
Technical support and maintenance
And the list goes on.
But, today I really want to focus on the statement “I am only a teacher”.
I have been caught in the trap that I made teaching my whole identity. It was what defined me as a person. I was THE agriculture teacher. And if we are being honest I bought into the whole song and dance that the best ag teachers were the ones who sacrificed their personal lives to win those banners, belt buckles and plaques.
Believe me, I am competitive. I like winning. But, I am not here to make teaching my identity.
Being a teacher is great. It is an honorable career path that allows many people to live out their passions daily.
But, you aren’t ONLY a teacher.
You are so much more. You are multifaceted, which means having a variety of different and important features.
There are so many things that make you YOU!
You might be a parent, a dog lover, a romance book enthusiast, a pickle baller, a craft beer maker, a bartender on the weekends, a Hockey coach, a freelance designer, an author, an instagrammer, a workout instructor, a farmer and the list goes on.
You are you. Being a teacher is a PART of your identity. Not the whole thing.
Being a teacher is something you can love and cherish and still close the door to your classroom and be excited to rush home to whatever is awaiting you.
Being a teacher is something that can make you want to go crazy but you can’t imagine doing anything else.
Being a teacher doesn’t have to be all consuming.
While we admit that being an agriculture teacher is a full job, at the end of the day it’s still just that: a job.
It pays the bills, it helps toward your retirement. And one day you will walk away from the classroom to live a life without education being the main attraction in your life.
We at G&G don’t want you to fall into the trap that makes new and experienced teachers feel like they need to be the first in the door, last to leave, work every weekend, win every award to be a great teacher.
Being multifaceted means you HAVE to honor all the parts that make you, you.
And if you don’t know what all of those parts are? Well then it’s time to intentionally figure those out and make a commitment to yourself to make sure you are honoring those sometimes neglected parts even throughout the busy school year.
We aren’t waiting until winter break or summer break to feel like ourselves again.
The good news is, we already have an awesome model in the AgEd world that can help us figure out what drives us and what we need to turn our focus on to honor ourselves.
It’s the THREE CIRCLE MODEL.
How To Apply The Three Circle Model To Your Life
In AgEd we base our programs on the three circle model and we try our darndest to make those circles even so all students get the best out of our day to day.
You can take that concept and apply it to your life.
What are three areas of your life that make you, you?
I’m not talking about your job titles or responsibilities at home. I really mean, who are you at your core and what makes you feel alive?
Too often, when we start this reflection, we go straight to titles: teacher, parent, coach, volunteer. But those are roles, not themes. They describe what you do, not why you do it.
The goal here is to uncover the underlying threads that give those roles meaning. Try thinking of the things that light you up, fill your cup, or keep you grounded no matter what hat you’re wearing.
Instead of asking, “What am I responsible for?” try asking:
What brings me energy, even on the hard days?
What do I find myself coming back to, no matter the season of life?
What values or passions drive the choices I make?
For example:
If you love being a mom because you’re deeply invested in nurturing others… you might name that circle relationships or connection.
If teaching fuels your passion for helping others grow, maybe one of your circles is mentorship or developing potential.
If you get your spark from creating new ideas, leading teams, or solving tough problems, maybe your circle is creativity, leadership, or problem-solving.
The goal is to name the theme behind the title, the heartbeat behind the role.
Here are some examples from the G&G Team
Play, Exploration, Community
Service, Movement, Faith
Health, Adventure, Motivator
Growth, Relationships, Adventures
Family, Adventure, Presence
Take a moment to sketch out your three circle model and if you want a handout to write on, grab our template here.
Once you land on your three it’s time to ask some hard questions about how you are fairing at this time in your life toward those circles.
Ask yourself:
Are these circles getting equal attention right now?
Which one has been neglected?
Which one needs more boundaries or more time?
That’s where the real insight starts. We can have all the intention in the world to be better about focusing on what makes us who we are at our core. But, if we don’t take action nothing will change.
If you love travel and haven’t been on a trip in years, it might be neglected.
If you are passionate about relationships, but have not been focusing on certain important ones, it might be time to reevaluate.
If you value growth in your life, but have been just doing everything you can to just maintain the status quo, it might be time to challenge yourself to get out of your comfort zone.
This process is not simple or singular. You can’t just do this once and then call it a day. It is something that requires continual reflection.
Just like you update your gradebook consistently or communicate with student families regularly the same determination should be brought to honoring who you are.
If you want to talk through this our team would be honored to have a discussion with you. Send us an email with the subject: Three Circle Model to sarah@greenandgrowingedu.com and we will set up some time to chat!
In the meantime, if you are realizing you need to lighten your load in the classroom to provide yourself margin in your life check out the resources that G&G provides like the resource library and the upcoming Germinate Conference.
