I have the greatest job in the world: I teach! I get to work with students. I get to see children learn new things. I get to hear them think. I get to laugh, have fun, inquire, and explore with them. Every day, I get to do what I love, and that makes me happy!
But this week, I feel a lot less happy. The problem is that this has nothing to do with the students. We’re getting to that point in the school year where negativity seems to multiply: between staffing, classroom assignments, class building, and report cards, the stress level increases and the positivity decreases. It’s easy to get immersed in the problems, and it’s easy to forget why we teach: for the kids!
I don’t want to end the year angry and upset though. I want to keep focused on the students, which I also know, will keep me focused on being happy. So on my drive home tonight, I thought about my vice principal, Kristi’s, #gratitude challenge from the end of March. I want to try something a little bit different though.
From now until June 27th (our last day of school), I hope that everyone will send at least one tweet a day celebrating learning, thinking, and/or student successes/accomplishments. There’s no one right way to do this! Let’s just make the final weeks of school #AboutTheKids. Whether you’re an educator, administrator, parent, or student, let’s all chime in with our positive moments and things to celebrate. I know that this will make me smile.
Who’s in?
Aviva
You know I’m in! It is such a stressful time of year but it is also so awesome because our students demonstrate such amazing skills after 8, 9, 10 months of hard work. I look forward to reading the tweets. I hope many will join in. Great idea.
Thanks Kristi! You’re right: our students have come so far after so much hard work, and I love seeing the number of people that are eager to chime in and really celebrate the kids! I’m so glad that you’re in as well. Thanks for the inspiration!
Aviva
I’m in! Just shared this on our school staff email as well. Thanks for helping us to think about the positives.
Thanks Dawn! I’m so glad that you’re in, and I hope that others join as well. At this time of the year, I think that we could all use a reminder about these positives, as there are definitely lots of student successes to celebrate!
Aviva
I want you to know that a teacher I know posted this on their school’s email conference and now teachers are sharing success stories with each other! Thanks for spreading your positive message!
Jen, at a time of the year when negativity sometimes trumps positivity, this comment of yours truly makes my heart happy! Thanks for sharing this great news! This makes me smile.
Aviva
A great reminder Aviva. Spring is a beautiful time of year though a very busy stressful time of year for teachers and Admin teams. I’m glad to be part of some positivity! I’ll be sharing your blog with the folks I work with and holding myself accountable as well,
Thanks for the comment, Barb! I love the fact that so many educators are getting involved in this focus on the kids because it’s why we’re all here … and during stressful times, this is sometimes easy to forget. Reading the #AboutTheKids hashtag each day makes me happy, and I know that my happiness benefits the students too. Here’s to all of us sharing great student success stories and ending the year on a positive note!
Aviva