Teacher Attitudes: Gratitude

I've been thinking about gratitude in the past few days, and especially how it applies to teaching.  I live in an area where teaching jobs have been historically hard to land...we have many universities in our state and many graduates with education degrees with a desire to stay in-state.  With the economy as dismal as it has been, and with a governor slashing the education budget, teaching jobs are EXTRA scarce these days.



Gratitude is what I feel to be working in my field, when so many are not.  Gratitude is what I feel when I look into the summer-tanned faces of my students who have grown a little older since I've last seen them, and gratitude is what I feel as I begin to learn the names of every student in my new school assignment.  Gratitude is abundant as I begin my thirteenth year in education with fresh new ideas to add to the old ones, and at the same time help to guide a newly hired teacher and a student teacher both just beginning their teaching careers.

If you are beginning this year as a teacher with some years under your belt, try to remember the excitement of the first teaching job, the anticipation of the beginning of the first school year spent teaching, and the hours spent in classroom preparation long before you ever saw the first paycheck. Combine with those feelings the Jedi-master calmness that comes from confidence that you have done this well before, and you will surely suceed again. Adding the wisdom of years in the classroom to the enthusiasm of the beginner will make you a dynamic teacher who will make a strong impact on your students.

If you are a new teacher this year, congratulations! Remember that you are lucky to be in your teaching position and that your students are counting on you to have a great year.  This year you will make mistakes, and that's OK...your students will forgive you because you are showing them you are human. Show your students that they matter to you, and when they misbehave, don't take it personally because you never know what sort of situation they are dealing with outside of school.

And now, to all teachers, "Much to learn, you still have", so let's start with learning our new student's names!