Had a bad teaching day? As beginning teachers, it's sure to happen (more often than you want it to!) And while our teaching will get better with more experience, the bad days don't stop. Unfortunately. As a person who gets wrapped up in her emotions, it can be hard to shake these bad day feelings and get back in the saddle to try again. Since I can't flip a switch and become an awesome teacher who will never make another mistake, I had to find a way to deal with the bad day blues.
First things first, I have to give myself some time to acknowledge those feelings. They are valid, and it's ok to be upset and disappointed when you don't live up to your expectations. Last week I let myself have my half-hour drive home for sad time. But then I got out of the car, and my sad time followed me out. I couldn't make myself snap out of the funk, convinced that I would never be a good teacher and filled with doom and gloom (don't worry, my teaching that day was NOT as bad as I felt like it was). So now I have a great idea (in my humble opinion...) for beating the bad day blues:
Had a bad day?
Make a bad day box!
(or folder, or document, or journal, or whatever works for you!)
Fill it with positive feedback from a mentor teacher, compliments and comments from students (my favorite so far - "I definitely won't forget THAT now!"), funny things heard in high school, a lesson plan you're extra proud of, photos, inspirational quotes, anything that will put a smile on your face...the sky is the limit!
What a great way to bust out of that funk and remember why you wanted to become a teacher in the first place. Give it a try, it just might help!
And if that doesn't work, listen to Daniel Powter's 'Bad Day' (a favorite of mine!) The video never fails to make me smile!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Melanie,
ReplyDeleteI love how thoughtful you are in dealing with the inevitable disappointments at Thurston. I remember wanting to cry two weeks ago walking out of Thurston... it is a rollercoaster. I like your idea of a "bad day box!"
Thanks for the post!
Melanie,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you've come up with a way to be really proactive in your teaching career. I think it's easy to get caught up with the things that go wrong and forget the parts that went well. I hope that this works and helps you to see how the good outweighs the bad. Also, take some pride in how awesome those dice looked! : )
The world isn't wired in such a way that teachers get the appreciation they deserve (though this probably applies to a lot fo people). The human interaction is very intense in our line of work, which can mean high highs and low lows as you clearly understand. I love your advice, and I would only add that the bumps in the road often arise when we're trying new things which an early career teacher like yourself is doing *all the time* So, in the spirit of your wise post, I'd encourage you to be kind to and forgiving of yourself, too.
ReplyDeleteGreat idea, Melanie! I have to admit that I often fall prey to my own emotions. No matter how much I try and talk myself through situations or use logic to persuade myself that I could not have done better and that I am a novice not an expert, I still get upset when I don't do something absolutely perfectly =). I am getting better but I think having a "bad day" box is a great idea. It is often easier to remember the bad times than the good and easier to critique than praise. I will have to implement that idea.
ReplyDelete