How can great teachers counteract colleagues who are prone to complaining about school, teaching, students, etc.?
Read this sentence: FINISHED FILES ARE THE RESULTS OF YEARS OF SCIENTFIC STUDY COMBINED WITH THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.
Now, count aloud the Fs in the sentence and count them only once. Do not look back and count them again. How many did you count? Many people count three or four, but there are actually six. The reason that nearly everyone undercounts is because the mind automatically filters out the F's in the word of, which is included three times in the sentence. Like the word of, negativity can be rampant; if we focused on every of or negative thing we hear, we would miss the big picture- the meaning of what it is that we are involved in, whether that is reading or teaching. How is this activity analogous to filtering out the negatives at school?
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Anywhere you go and anything you do you will hear negative comments. As humans we are very use to them. But just like the "of" activity, we do in most cases filter out most of them. As teachers, we hear negative comments from the media all the way down to the students we teach. In most cases, I feel that our mind considers the source of the comment and normally dismisses it. Unless, we give that source great respect and then it becomes etched in our minds and could possibly cause us to be negative about something also.
ReplyDelete"Your attitude is an expression of your values, beliefs and expectations."
ReplyDeleteEverywhere we go, you run into negativity. What we see depends mainly on what we look for. As a teacher, you have to learn to put yourself in a position where you are professional and doing what is in the best interest of students. It's too easy to get caught up in all the negativity or what could be done. We need to focus on what is being done and how our students are progressing. It's so important to be positive in the classroom and outside the classroom because a negative attitiude will impact the students. You never know who is listening!!
It’s easy for people to sit back, complain, and do nothing, but others don’t really enjoy being around them? People who are positive and upbeat make a difference. They find the good in every situation and everyone. A vibe radiates from them that draws others in. We need to strive to do what we were taught as children and that is “if you can’t say something nice, then don’t say anything at all.”
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ReplyDeleteI am reminded of a movie I saw this week, "Yours, Mine, and Ours." In this movie, after the parents married, the two separate families of kids could not become "one" family because they were so negative toward each other. They constantly argued and looked for something to complain about. They made each other miserable. Eventually, they put aside their differences and joined together for a single goal, to break up their parents. Working together, they began to notice that the others weren't so bad. They began to see the good in each other and actually became friends, and then realized that they wanted their parents to stay together. I think of FVES as a family. When we find the good in each other and STRIVE to have a positive attitude; that is when we begin to have the greatest impact on others. When we set aside our differences and work together for a single goal, to make FVES a school of GREAT TEACHERS, we will have a positive impact on our students, parents, and community as well as each other.
ReplyDeleteI am reminded of a poster/banner that I always had in my classroom, "Your attitude determines your altitude." It is so true!
ReplyDeleteLet's get real. I know everyone has to vent sometime. The difference to me is what you do after that. Do you then create an action plan to solve the problem by collaborating with others or do you continue to do nothing, gripe and blame others? It also helps to surround yourself with positive people. Thanks to Stubbs, Monroe and Shepherd to name afew.
ReplyDeleteSo true, Laurie. We all have our days. Own it and move on!
ReplyDeleteEven though, you may not hear something negative, there are times you can feel it or sense it. We need to be aware of what we say, how we say it and never let our actions speak louder than our unspoken words.
ReplyDeleteGillie says ... I disagree that you must always filter out the negative, because that would not be truthful to always be positive. However you can relate negative experiences in a manner that would not be upsetting to others.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Laurie, venting can be essential, and there is a difference between venting and being negative. Venting has a purpose and a direction. Surrounding yourself with others who can keep you on the bright side is VERY helpful and I appreciate all of those who keep me on that side of the world. (Gillie is singing in the background...accentuate the positive...and keep on the sunny side):)
ReplyDeleteI love the own it and move on statement. If I pretended that I was always positive, I would be lying!!! There are many days when I am stressed to the max, need to vent, and then move I can move on. I need people like Candi (on my grade level) to vent too. Others around us can either filter out the negativity or fuel the fire. You have to know how to choose those people in order to move on!
ReplyDeleteHearing negativity and venting constantly can drag a person's attitude way down. I wish I could say it is easy to avoid hearing negativity in the schoolday, but that is impossible. The best way to avoid the negativity is to stay in your own classroom and mind your own business, yet that is a formula for failure. I have a quote about attitude from Charles Swindoll taped to my mirror to remind me when my attitude is slipping.
ReplyDelete"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company ... a church ... a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude ... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me, and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you ... we are in charge of our Attitudes."
This was given to my class by a teacher in high school, and I will always remember it. I have experienced a LOT of life and know the impact attitude can have on the outcome of a situation. If you constantly vent and gripe about a situtation that is beyond your control, you are waving your white flag and are surrendering to the negativity and its ruin. I am a firm believer that attitude can make or break a person. The best teachers who come to mind are the ones whose attitude was always the best.