During my first year at ISART there were plenty of hiccups along the way.

Students would ask me questions about the school, and my ignorance revealed how new I was. I had constant issues with technology that delayed my classes. My activity ideas were generally solid, but sometimes they were poorly executed — something the first group to try them definitely noticed.

These are the kind of moments that might cause a teacher to feel embarrassed. I know because once upon a time, in my early years in the profession, I too would have felt embarrassed by them.

Nowadays, I feel comfortable to let my students see them. In fact, it's important to me that I never mislead my students about my shortcomings.

If a student asks me a question about grammar, for example, and I don't know the answer, that's exactly what I tell them. If we have time, I'll show them how to find the answer. We can ask other students in the class who might know, or we can use Google to figure it out.

"I don't know, and here's how to find the answer" is a response that students always seem to appreciate. It's certainly more helpful than a partial response intended by the teacher to save their own face.

Another thing I routinely stuff is up is my students' names. Despite my best efforts, there is at least one student in every class who I will consistently call by the wrong name for most of the year ("Sorry, Josh, who is actually Joseph").

I don't mind if my students laugh at me for stuff like that because I show them I'm happy to laugh at myself over it. Since I can't change my brain to perfectly recall everyone's names, I may as well get comfortable with how it works.

I used to wish it weren't the case, and spent a lot of time practicing techniques to enhance my recall of names. I have some success with them, but it's never perfect, and even at my best, I'm average at best.

Some teachers seem to think they need to appear as though they are fountains of knowledge on all things. That if they don't know something perfectly or that they don't do something perfectly, that they will lose their authority as a teacher.

It's a misguided attitude.

If a teacher believes their students won't respect them because they are imperfect, their students will inevitably believe that their teacher won't respect them unless they are perfect.

In a learning environment, mistakes are part of the process. As a teacher, you want your students to feel comfortable making mistakes. What better way to teach them this than by being a role model of comfort with your own?

Provided you're doing an otherwise good job, your students will find it reassuring. They'll trust you because they know you won't judge them harshly for their mistakes.

Teachers do their students a great service by normalizing mistakes, and the best way to start is by setting the example with your own.