I 100% agree that attitude can make or break the moment, the day, the year, or the success in general of ourselves and our students. Trying to maintain a positive attitude can be a struggle at times but my dad taught me from a very young age that even when you are unhappy, force yourself to smile because sooner or later you won't have to force yourself to do it anymore, your attitude and mental state will catch up.
Taking over mid year for Beth this year, with my first time being in my very own classroom, was an extremely stressful thing for me. There were many moments when I definitely wasn't feeling extremely positive. I remember one day at the very beginning of me taking over I was super frazzled and stressed out and I was sitting in my rocking chair looking at all of these expectant faces sitting on the carpet staring at me. And for some reason, this little tidbit of advice crept into my head and even though I didn't feel it, I decided to run with it. I told them all I wanted to see their smiles. A handful of kids readily gave it to me, and those who didn't, their classmates and I all insisted until them smiled as well. Eventually we had a whole room of kids smiling. One of my more challenging students asked me why we were smiling and because I had no other answer, I finally just said "Because we are happy!" Without even realizing it, that became the motto of our class. It got to the point where if we were having a particularly stressful day, one of the kids would raise their hand and ask if we could "do the smiles". Inevitably this one student would ask again "why are we smiling?" and the whole class would resound with "BECAUSE WE ARE HAPPY!" It was shocking to me how much they got into the idea.
It really made me realize how important it was to them to have that positive environment and I thought it great that they would initiate it themselves.
It is funny how they always seemed to know when to do it. Almost always after the whole class had to be spoken to for behavior in the cafeteria or specials, and morale was particularly low, someone would chime in requesting the smiles. It was nice for them to be lifted up again, knowing that even though they may have been reprimanded, life goes on and they wanted the positivity to remain.
I know keeping a positive mental attitude is something I need to continue to work on, but I have to say, it was great this year having the kids there to remind me.
This is so true. I have been humbled many times in my teaching career with the simple, yet powerful lessons our students provide for us. Children help us see the light through our most difficult times. This is just one more reason why we need to stay positive for them.
ReplyDeleteI think it's also very important for our students to see our positive attitudes during interactions with our colleagues as well. So often, we put on a smile in the classroom, then the students walk by grumbling teachers congregating in the hallways. They may catch clips of our conversations and wonder if we are referring to them. I believe a positive attitude can turn around the morale and success of an entire school more effectively than any type of teacher training or staff development.
I fully agree! Our students do provide powerful lessons, and they are often positive role models for us! This reminds me of early morning arrival time at the beginning of each day. I'm not quite an early morning person myself, and I often gain my energy in the mornings from my students (and my coffee)! No matter how I'm feeling in the morning, tired, stressed, or overwhelmed with a to-do list...ready or not, here they come!! They typically enter eager, happy, and ready to face the challenges of the day. This crucial early morning arrival time with our students helps set the tone for the day and I feel fortunate to be able to pull some positive strength from my students each morning!
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for coffee and smiling faces in the morning! Seeing our students enter the building eager to learn is a great motivator. What a huge responsiblility and privilege we have each day! Sarah, your class motto, "Because we're happy", is so great. Thanks for sharing!
DeleteThe funny thing is it was something I just said off the cuff because I didn't know what else to say. The kids are the ones who took it and made it a motto, kept the whole thing going! Amazing the insight you find from 5 and 6 year olds...
DeleteTrue Sarah, you never know what the children are going to say or do, and just at the right moment, they say or do something cute, funny, or just way out of blue and everything falls into place! Or it doesn't fall into place and you can just laugh at that point, I find that usually helps make me feel better too! Last year, a student shared something once that was totally off topic (that usually happens in Kindergarten) and all I could do was laugh. I was trying to control it because I didn't want the student to feel bad. However, in a few moments the entire class was laughing, they didn't know why but they just went with it! Once the laughter was under control, we talked about how we all felt so much better after laughing together, and we thanked the student for making us laugh. It was cool, because they were not engaged in the topic originally and they were incredibly focused after our off-task laughing!
DeleteSo true....we can learn so much from them....
ReplyDeleteStudents can definitely help shape the tone for the classroom. Over the years, I have found that when I have high energy/positive attitude it can really motivate the students. On days that I don't or am feeling bad, my students help to motivate me!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed Sarah's "because we're happy" story and Kim's additon. They made me think of a family story of mine...my Aunt Phyllis passed away the year before last. She was a preschool teacher and always had a very strong love, passion, and soft spot in her heart for young children. Although she went through many tough times in her adult life, she always maintained a playful, happy, and upbeat attitude around her nieces and nephews, making her a favorite aunt to many, including me! Her smile was contagious. The days after she passed was a difficult time for the younger children in our family as they witnessed the sorrow expressed by the adults in their life. My sister's daughter, who was 6 at that time, overhearing the adults' conversation discussing Phyllis's death, made the comment, "I think she died of happiness." How could you not smile hearing that? Simple, yet positive words spoken from a child's point of view on such an upsetting situation. Those words were so comforting to all of us at the time that my uncle had them printed on Phyllis's gravestone. We could all learn a lot from looking at situations through the eyes of a child, and as teachers, be grateful that we get to work with children each day. They do help lift us up when we most need it.
DeleteThanks for sharing such a touching story, Amy. Your Aunt sounds like she was an amazing person! I love the story!
DeleteWhat a great story Amy!! And what a great attitude your Aunt had!!!
DeleteAmy, I love that story! Thank you for sharing. When we all lost Janie last year, one of our students said to me, "Miss Milone I know you are sad and you miss Mrs. Jackson because I can see it in your face". The children really are so perceptive, they read through our emotions and body language. We do learn so much from the children's point of view!
DeleteKim, thanks for mentioning Janie. I can't help but think what a wonderful example she was of what we're all talking about ... loving yet firm, focused on the kids, consistent and FUN!!! And laugh ... boy could she laugh! We're each creating a legacy that we leave behind us. How fortunate we are to have had the positives exemplified in Janie!
DeleteYes, you are so right - Janie was a wonderful example of what we are all talking about. She reminded me each day to find something to laugh about - some days we were so stressed, it was a far reach - but we always found a way to laugh anyway! We were so very fortunate to have her positive examples :)
DeleteAmy, Thank you for that story about your aunt. She was wonderful as Olivia's preschool teacher, and that story warmed my heart. :)
DeleteAmen to all the posts about our dear Janie. That lady was the epitome of "positive happiness" to which we should all strive!!!
Every year I tell my kids that they have to smile when taking tests and during writing. I read this article once that said simply smiling can change the %age on an assessment by upwards of 15%. It's so funny to look around the room and see them trying to smile, that I just can't help smiling. It's contagious!
ReplyDeleteFern, I love that idea! I definitely will want to continue that with your students next year. Thanks
DeleteIt makes me think of the part in chapter 2 where the music teacher has his kids laugh with a partner for one minute when things start to get boring...hilarious!