Imposter Syndrome

Imposter Syndrome is Real

I know that throughout my three different careers, I have pretended to know something that I didn't actually know. Why? Fear of looking stupid? Feeling like I somehow should have known something that everyone else seemed to already know? Maybe because I was in a supervisory position and didn't want my staff to know that I didn't know something? I can honestly answer 'yes' to all of the questions above.

Many professionals, including teachers, are afraid to ask questions about things they think they should know instead of asking for clarification. We need to embrace the fact that we don't know everything and lose the fear of asking questions. Remember...we want our students to ask questions when they don't know or understand something. Why don't we expect the same from ourselves?

Here's an interesting article about a new teacher's experience.

https://theeducatorsroom.com/why-i-nearly-quit-teaching-imposter-syndrome/ 


If you are not sure what 'Imposter Syndrome' actually is, I highly recommend taking a few minutes and watching this video by Steven Katz. He explains how we see the Imposter Syndrome in teaching beautifully.


The Imposter Syndrome from The Learning Exchange (1) on Vimeo.