Attitude Matters

A positive attitude gives you confidence and increases your energy. No one knows that better than Lee Ann G. Lee Ann is one of my favorite teachers. What sets her apart is a very simple rule that she lives by. “I choose to believe.”  No matter what is going on she chooses to believe the best and most optimistic thing about a situation or a person. Having a positive attitude is a deliberate choice she makes because she wants to be happy. Sounds simple doesn't it? It is simple. It works like this; your thoughts create your feelings, so if you want to feel differently, think differently. The first step to having a positive attitude is paying attention to what’s in your mind. The second step is to change your thinking. Lee Ann does it by saying, “I choose to believe.”  What we do is important, so think good thoughts and say good things. You’re worth it. And remember, what you put in your mind comes out in your life.

                                                    You will change a child's life today, thank you.

                                                               Link of the Week

Simple Ways to Handle Change Better

   Shakespeare said, “There is nothing either good or    bad, but thinking makes it so.”Nothing stays the same for very long, especially in education, especially now.   Change can be a challenge for some people,but it doesn't have to be.  Here are 5 simple things you can do to make change easier.

1.      Recognize the difference between a fact and an opinion and stick to the facts. “The new curriculum is hard,” is an opinion that triggers a negative emotion which  causes stress. Do you really need any more stress? “We have a new curriculum,” is a fact that is not colored by emotion.

2.      Practice nonresistance. Resistance will not change what is. It will, however make you anxious and worried. When you feel yourself resisting what is being presented to you take a three, deep conscious breaths, and say, “Ok,” three times.

3.      Live in the moment.  When you worry you are living in the future. When you want to do what you always did you are living in the past. Now is the only moment that matters. When you find your mind drifting away from right now pull it back by paying close attention to your hands. Notice every detail about them then breath.

4.      Practice positive self talk.  Pay attention to your thoughts and reframe the negative thoughts.  Whose life is it anyway, yours or your mind’s?

5.      Give yourself permission to a. not know it all and b. make mistakes. 

                     Today you will make a difference in a child’s life, thank you.

                                                   Link of the week

                  

      

Happy New School Year!

One of the best things about teaching is we get two New Years instead of just one, two new beginnings, two  fresh starts. I love it.  What will you do to make this school year the best one ever?  Here is a list of ten suggestions by various teacher friends to make this your best year ever.




1.  Be that teacher, the one who is enthusiastic and  excited.

2.  Cultivate and maintain relationships with positive people. Have you ever noticed what an energy drain negative people are? Learn to minimize interactions with them and look for people who love what they do.

3. Celebrate your successes with as much energy as you do your mistakes.

4. Do fewer things better. Focus one or two professional skills you want to hone and do it.

5. Be grateful. Gratitude is one of the most powerful things we can do for ourselves and each other. Say thank you ten times a day and watch your happiness grow.

6. Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses.  Take an unflinching inventory of yourself before school starts and decide what you can do to improve your weakness.

7. Love and respect every child every day no matter what.

8. Be transparent. This means teaching at all times as if the world were watching.

9. Get enough exercise and sleep.

10. Laugh and smile often.

 Remember, you are the most valuable resource you have. Happy School Year!

Link of the Week 

Top Ten Movies for Teachers

                            

Teachers change lives. These movies show good teachers making a difference just like you do. Keep up the good work every body.  What you do matters and it matters most now. 

Coach Carter  Ken Carter shows what happens when a teacher really believes in his students and is determined to make a difference.

Finding Forester: Once a teacher, always a teacher. You never stop caring about kids.

 Stand and Deliver  Jaime Escalante is an example of what happens when a teacher has high expectations in the face of opposition. 

Lean on Me Joe Clark takes back his inner city school. 

Music of the Heart A music teacher overcomes  discipline, apathy and opposition from parents to create a life changing music program.

October Sky  A young teacher helps a boy follow his dream and reach for the stars.

Up The Down Staircase An idealistic teacher confronts reality with courage and discovers her passion. 

To Have and To Have  A patient teacher who demands respect without being stern and creates a community of love and learning.

The Water is Wide    Pat Conroy's passion for his students bring out the best in him and them. 

To Sir With Love The timeless story of a teacher who changes the lives of his students and is changed himself in the process.

Are You Laying Bricks or Building a Cathedral?

Why do you teach?  There are as many answers to that as there are teachers.  It's a question worth asking yourself from time to time because it's your strongest motivation. It's what keeps you going when you rather wouldn't.  I teach because I believe in democracy and believe that public education is vital to that. There's also recess, reading aloud, and tater tots. Mainly though, I teach because it is my deepest calling. It's where my soul and the world meets. Three men were working on a building site. When asked what they were doing, the first man answered ‘I am laying bricks.’ The second said ‘I am making a wall’ and the third replied ‘I am building a cathedral’.  Why do you teach?