I love this video. I love it not because it’s about a pie-in-the-sky kind of video, but because it’s about the truth. Kids learn more from the teachers they like. They remember the instruction from teachers they like. They listen to and want to perform well for teachers they like. They take discipline and constructive feedback better from teachers they like.
You know, I often say that teaching is a series of small, short interactions put together with enthusiasm – and that is truer today than it every has been.
I encourage you to take a look at Rita’s speech – and listen to it at the end of the school year as your closer to your last staff meeting. This is the kind of stuff that can’t be taught – it has to be cultivated and decided upon.
It IS the glue that holds the teaching together.
And it’s necessary for every kid. And every teacher.
This is exactly what I needed to hear today!
Yes! I thought it was so important. For me, too! 🙂
JoNell, you took the exact words I was about to type! I started the year with a “keep it positive” motto in and out of the classroom. Towards the middle of September, the amount of pressure and expectations of what should and needed to be taking place in the classroom was drastically increasing. At that point, I may have been frustrated with what was happening outside of my classroom, but I loved my kids! Today, I found myself in a full on cloud of “I don’t get why these students are doing….., they can’t do … or this…. ” gloom. I can’t pinpoint the exact reason or when the shift happened, but something sure changed.
I found this website earlier in the day, and when I sat down to “glance over” a few things that caught my eye, I couldn’t stop! The video, articles, and other tools helped get me out of teaching gloom! I’m sure my kids will appreciate it!
Mallory – I’m so glad you found us! Let me know what I can do to support you…we KNOW that attitude of the teacher is a HUGE part of student success…and just by the fact that you were aware that something shifted, you are a great teacher. Go get ’em and come back here for your weekly encouragement!
-Jill