Pursuing Positivity (Part I): You don’t need fixing!

Does it ever sound like this inside your brain? 

“My students are not paying attention to me.”

“I lost them.”

“They are glazing over”.

 “They are looking at me strangely. Did I tuck my shirt in funny?”

“Should I even be a teacher?”

“What are they thinking?”

“What am I thinking?”

There are so many situations that can bring us down and really shake our self-confidence. As if our own personal narratives were not enough, there are outside forces at work, too, that cam make us doubt ourselves.

If you subscribe to any Professional Educational blogs, podcasts or newsletters, here are some common topics:

Ten steps to better teaching!

Improve your classroom control in five steps. 

Eight new teaching methods you’ll start using tomorrow!

Don’t get me wrong; there is nothing inherently evil about these themes, however, the implication is that we, as teachers, are “doing it wrong”.  There is a “right” way to teach and we are not doing it correctly.  In other words; we need to be fixed. And I know this might sound crazy coming from a person who is currently writing a blog to help teachers, but I believe that this is not the case.  I did not start a blog because I looked around and thought there were so many teachers teaching incorrectly.  Quite the opposite is true.  I saw so many teachers doing an incredible job, but they just needed encouragement to keep pressing onward and upward.

Teaching can be a very isolating profession.  Sure, you are surrounded by people all day long, but those people are your students and not your peers.  Often we see our teacher buddies only at in-services and afterschool meetings. It is not the same as working alongside co-workers- which would occur in a more traditional business setting. Therefore, we do not often get the “iron sharpens iron” effect that would come from conversing with your co-workers on a more regular basis.

So, how do we combat the negativity that is swirling around us? We do so by pursuing the positives.  Now I realize that this might sound cliché, but we truly do need to train our minds to think on positive things.  Left unchecked, we will dwell on the bad stuff. The first step I want you to take in the direction of positivity is in the form of a challenge. Ready?  Here it is:  I challenge you to take a good look at your strengths.
Sounds simple, right? However, in the spirit of full disclosure, I want you to know that I struggled with this assignment. I challenged myself to do this last year when I had several incredibly difficult classroom situations.  It was easier for me to think about all the things that I needed to work on rather than the things that are my strengths. However, when I made myself physically write down my positive traits, it was surprisingly encouraging!

 Are you having difficulty coming up with areas where you shine?  Let me ask you some questions to get you started.

How is your attitude when you greet your students each morning?

How are your relational skills with students? With parents? With peers? With administration?

Do you get papers graded and back to your students in a timely manner?

What about your room… Do you have interesting items displayed?

Are you a cheerleader for your students?  Do you celebrate their wins?

Are you an encourager when your students struggle?

Do you think of creative ideas for lessons?

How are your planning skills?

Do you really know and love your subject/content area?

How is your classroom management?

There are many more areas, but I just wanted to prime the pump and get you thinking.  Try to carry this challenge around with you for the next couple of days. Really think about your strengths (and only your strengths – do not let the weaknesses creep in to your thoughts for this assignment!) I think this is so important that I want to challenge you to actually write them down.  Maybe put a list of your strengths on a sticky note (or a digital sticky note!) I want you to take a look at the list and keep adding to it over the next few weeks.  This is the first step in helping that self-talk stay positive.  I am sure there are things that you can work on, but for the time being, help build your confidence by only concentrating on the things you are already doing well

I would love to hear your comments about this challenge of finding your strengths… or anything else that helps to keep you positive and encouraged. 

This is Part I of a three part series on pursuing the positive aspects of the teaching experience. 

Keep an eye out for Pursuing Positivity Part II:  Bringing more You into your classroom!  It should be out in the next few of weeks!