Getting a Great Start in the New Year
It’s the new year and almost third quarter. This can be the hardest time of the year for teachers and students. We’re just coming off of two big holidays, snow can disrupt any routine we have, and spring break seems far away. What can we do to decrease our chances of finding ourselves in the doldrums? Here are a few ideas.
- Only concern yourself with situations that you can change. If the state has mandated a policy that you don’t like, accept it and go on. Spend your summer time figuring out how to change it if you’re so inclined. Your principal enforces a rule you don’t like, accept it and go on. What about the new decision the school board made about textbooks in the classroom? Again, forget it and go on. We all spend too much time complaining and “jawing” about what we cannot change. If you feel you need to speak your piece to your principal or school board or state, do it and get on with it. Don’t let that negative energy bring you down.
- Stay positive. Surround yourself with positive people. Don’t give in to negative talk in the teachers’ lounge, hallway, or grade level meeting. Change the subject or move the conversation along. By the way TV, movies or celebrities are always light fare to discuss and some of my favorite topics if you were wondering.
- Keep your socializing during the school day to a minimum. I can’t even begin to count the endless hours I spent socializing instead of getting my work done. My advice would be to schedule a time away from school to get together with your peers. This gets you out of the building and clearly separates work from socializing.
- Make sure you and your students move around during class. Remember how awful it was for you to have to sit at some of those long meetings at the beginning of the year? What a relief it was to have a break either scheduled or your own personal break! Have sympathy for your kids.
- Plan one goal each month that you are going to achieve. Yes, you are going to achieve. I read a book recently that argued if you say you are going to try to do something, then forget it. You must start with I will…
- Say something positive to each student each week. It doesn’t have to be a long conversation…just a quick positive remark. What a difference this can make to all of us!
- Teach kindness by performing a random act of kindness each week in your classroom. This can be powerful.
- Sing. Sing anything…The Star Spangled Banner, Born to Run, The Lonely Goatherd, Stairway to Heaven, Ain’t Nothing but a Hound Dog…anything. Just sing. Medical research has shown that singing lowers your blood pressure and releases extra endorphins into your bloodstream. Well, I don’t know if this is true or not, but it could be!
- Plan more lessons that actively engage your kids. I’ve seen 3 year olds to 18 year olds take a concept and find some clever way to act it out or experiment with it.
- Make sure that no student is left behind. Give struggling students the support they need to succeed.
- That being said, remember (and remind your students if necessary) that you are the teacher, and your job is to teach. Their job is to learn. Do everything you can to ensure students’ success, but it’s a two way street. You can’t do it alone.
- Take care of yourself. Eat well, exercise, and get enough sleep!
Happy New Year! Here’s to a great third quarter.