Saturday, January 7, 2012

What Makes Your Day Great?

Education can be a stressful, overwhelming job on the worst days and it can be rewarding and joyful on the best days. Every day we have a choice, no matter what the circumstances, to make it a great day. I found this parable the other day that has this same message:

An old Cherokee is telling his grandson about a fight that is going on inside him.
He said it is between 2 wolves.
One is evil:
Anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity,
Guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false, pride, superiority and ego…
The other is good:
Joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness,
Benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith…
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,
“Which wolf wins?”
The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one I feed.”

I sat down and thought about the things that make a day my best day.
My Best Day:
1. I laugh things off.
2. I use a soft, understanding voice
3. I listen and try to understand
4. I have fun, joke around, show my silly side
5. I smile
6. I try to do something nice for someone else
7. I compliment my students and catch them being good.


Those really aren't huge monumental actions or decisions! They are small and simple choices that actually have a HUGE impact on how the day goes. Even on my toughest days, I have a choice to let things bother me or to let it go.


My best friend usually says to me on bad days. "Don't give them/it power over you! You are giving them/it way too much power!" How true this is. When we think about the negative people or circumstances, just the thought gives negative power over us.


What makes your days great? What are things that you do in your own classroom to turn a not-so-good-day into a great one? We are all human, trying to do the best we can. I'd love to hear from you!

There is only Love,
Rebecca

10 comments:

  1. What makes my day great is two things:

    1. All of the kids and not just my kids, but all the kids in the building. Our building is pretty small and I know most of the kids from all grades. I love stopping in the hall and talking with them!

    2. All the great people I work with, especially one of my besties! I am grateful to have her at my school with me! We have so much fun all the time!

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  2. I've left you a little award on my blog. Hope you haven't gotten it yet, but if you have, you deserve it again!
    Kristy
    www.cozartsclass.blogspot.com

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  3. I ALWAYS end my day asking the students to "Tell Me Something Good That Happened Today". I am amazed at the awesome responses the students come up with. It makes me stop and see things from their perspective and remember that good things do happen everyday but we have to stop, reflect and recognize that they do. This also models to the students that refecting on positive things gives us all a happy ending to each school day.

    Marcy
    My First Grade Backpack

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  4. I just nominated you for the Versatile Blogger award! See here: www.literacyminute.blogspot.com
    I always enjoy your posts!

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  5. Love your blog! Soooo cute and creative :) I look forward to coming back and reading more great posts :)

    Lisa :) (new follower)
    http://madeintheshadeinsecondgrade.blogspot.com/

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  6. Wow! That made me cry!
    It is so frustrating at times to FEEL the negativity when faculty is together- you can only imagine what is going on in some of the rooms.

    It makes my day when I get emails from parents who say "_______ can't wait for school to start back!" or "__________ just loves school!"
    No one wants to be where they are not happy. It makes my day that my sweeties are happy to be there!
    Staci

    Going Nutty!

    misssquirrels@yahoo.com

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  7. Thank you for all of your beautiful comments! I wish there was a "like" button for comments because so often I find myself saying "me, too!" when I am reading them! We all have our bad days, but it's nice to share ways to get through them and turn them into something better. The best thing about the blogging community is that it helps all of us know that we are not alone.
    Sending hugs,
    Rebecca

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  8. I had a professor in college and most of his lectures included the words "It's all good." At the time I wasn't really impressed with him or his lectures lol but now I remind myself that "It's all good." whenever I feel myself about to become frustrated with my kiddos. When the tension starts mounting in the room, that's when I pull out "It's all good." and crack a joke or start to sing to them or pretend to pull out my hair. Letting them see that I'm taking their mistakes lightly lets them know that its okay not to be perfect in my class and even when they're making bad choices we can still take a breath and get back on track without making it into a big deal.

    There's really nothing that's worth sweating when it comes to these little guys - unless it's deliberate meanness and luckily all of my kiddos are basically sweet this year!

    Jennifer @ Herding Kats In Kindergarten

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  9. What a wonderful post!!! THANK YOU! I love how you said that those small actions and choices can have an impact on the entire day and our students. I have to stop myself sometimes and remind myself that they are only seven.... It's easy to get caught up in all of the frustrating parts of our job, but I love your My Best Day list. I'm going to adopt it too! :) I've nominated you for the Versatile Blog Award. You can stop by my blog to check it out. :) I am your newest follower!

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  10. 8. I have a glass of wine with dinner

    Ha! In all seriousness it makes my day when I get something nice from a parent. I have one father who starts every email with "Thank you so much for all you do for our son..." He even says it when he sees me. I'm sure he didn't know what to think when I hugged he and his wife at our Christmas party and told them how much I loved having such kind and supportive parents!
    Rowdy in First Grade

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I just LOVE your comments!