gratitude

A Meaningful Gift for the Imperfect Teacher

by Kendal Privette on December 16, 2011

Writing for this blog has forced me to analyze what I do and why I do it, so today, because I was curious, I asked my students to compile lists of the qualities they appreciate in teachers. They wrote, ranked and shared until they had  assembled forty-five adjectives. It’s a tall order, this list, and one I strive to fill.  Here are a few of my favorites -

patient

creative

loving

kind

fun

active

helpful

optimistic

even-tempered

humorous

world-saving

But there are days. Headache days. Should-have-gone-to-bed-earlier days. Worried-about-family days. Days I make ineffective decisions. Days I am unprepared and self-centered.  Days I expect perfection from 12-year-olds. I admit that on those days I embody few of the qualities my students treasure in a teacher. I had one today, one of those days.  It started with a 9.5-on-the-Privette-scale headache and slid quickly into the pits by noon. Bedraggled is the best adjective to describe me after a twelve hour day.

But thank goodness for tomorrows. And thank goodness for gifts. Oh, it is the Christmas season, and my students will come bearing gifts. Coffee. Mugs. Candles. Chocolate. Nutella. Gift Cards. I am smiling now, thinking of how excited they are to give. But on the top of my wish list tonight? Grace. These students, I know them, and I believe that they will give and give abundantly. They will bestow upon this teacher forgiveness undeserved.  

So I would like to add a forty-sixth adjective to the slate  - blessed.

Kendal blogs at a spacious place 

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A Classroom Gratitude Journal

by Laura Groves on November 14, 2011

Gratitude journal

I discovered the gratitude journal idea last November, and I’ve found it an awesome way to prepare for the season. Some people have a personal gratitude journal, some a family one.

Have you ever thought of a classroom gratitude journal?

A gratitude journal is simply a place to record what you’re thankful for—and what better place than a classroom to have kids expressing thanks?

Feeling wanted, needed, accepted, appreciated—those things boost our self-image. And expressing gratitude helps put our minds on what’s really important instead of on the economy or our problems or our needs.

If it works for you and your students, you can set out a composition book for all to add entries to. Or if you’d rather, have each student start a Gratitude Journal of sorts in their notebook for your class. Devote the first five minutes to writing what you’re thankful for—from the big to the small. This can be for their eyes only, so encourage them to fill the five minutes with thankful thoughts, whether those are for crisp, cool weather, a faithful friend, or just no homework last night.

There’s about three weeks or so until we all take off for Thanksgiving, so get started! You can set aside a half hour on the last day before the holiday for students to share, if you’d like. Let the ones who choose to share pick two or three things they’re thankful for, and let them read them aloud. Be sure to share some of yours, too. (Kids love to hear what we’re thinking, believe it or not!)

Fill up your classroom with gratitude. I promise, things will start to look up!

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* Need other ideas for making your classroom a happier, more thankful place? Check out our posts, Bad-Mood-Breaker or 10 Questions to a Happier You.

Laura teaches high school English and drama and blogs at Outnumbered Mom.

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Be a Better Teacher {10 Questions to a Happier You}

by Laura Parker on October 19, 2011

Do you Want to Be a Better, Happier Teacher? Do you want to be a more positive person–

Someone a little more glass-half-full and a bit less eeyore-sound-alike?

Here are ten simple questions to honestly ask yourself, which just may hold the key to greater joy, easier smiles, and louder laughs in the classroom and outside of it . . .

10 Questions to a Happier You

1. Have you been thankful today?

2. What have you been thankful for in the last hour? (No, really, can you think of something?)

3. Think of the last time you were in the teacher’s lounge {or chatting with other educators}, did you complain or did you talk about the positive?

4. Have you written down ways you are thankful in the past year, the past 6 months, the past week?

5. Were you thankful for something specific, or a lot of specifics, yesterday?

6. How often do you verbally thank those around you– your students, your colleagues, your principal, your family, etc?

7. Have you stopped and been grateful for your health, your car, your food, your _________ today? Especially those things we typically take for granted, in light of the majority of people who share our globe today?

8. What are the positive things about teaching, this year, for you {and are you thankful for them or do you simply gripe about the negatives}?

9. Would you classify yourself generally as a thankful person?

10.  Like, really, are you? What would your co-workers say?

*Ann Voskamp‘s book is faith-based, but I thought the trailer completely inspirational.

Need more? Check out our Character Education Lesson Idea on Teaching Gratitude in the Classroom, because Happy, spreads.

And in the classroom, that happy generally starts with you.

Generally speaking, the attitude of the followers typically reflects the attitude of the leader. It’s more than economics that trickles-down.

*Laura, a former middle school teacher, educates her kids at home now and blogs at ALifeOverseas.com.

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Okay, let’s practice– what are 5 things that you can be grateful for about THIS SHOOL YEAR?

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Bad-Mood-Breaker {Gratitude}

by Laura Parker on March 20, 2011

Bad Moods Attack.  That’s just true, and that’s just life.

And sometimes, bad moods can spread through a group of students like strep throat at the McDonald’s playplace on a Saturday.

And before you know it, the entire atmosphere of the classroom is a negative pit of complaints and whining and arguments.

And maybe it’s the full moon, or maybe it’s that rain that’s been hanging around for four days straight. Perhaps its the tests looming large {or not looming large enough} or perhaps its the break coming close {or being too far away}. Whatever the reason, bad moods can quickly destroy the learning environment. And if that happens to be the case for you, consider putting this 5-minute trick into your back pocket.

Bad-Mood-Breaker {Gratitude Drill}

1.  Stop the Class Abruptly.  It’s more fun that way.  Announce that everyone should clear their desk of everything but one piece of paper and something to write with.  {Go ahead, make them feel like you are giving a pop quiz.  They were in bad moods, after all, and probably deserve it.}

2.  Two-Minute Gratitude Drill.  Have students scribble down things that they are thankful for in that moment.  The more, the better.  Set a timer and have them write until the buzzer rings.

3.  Share.  Either have students share volunteer to share their lists, or compile a giant classroom list on the board.

4.  Continue On.  Hopefully, without all the ‘tudes.

*Alterations for younger children– If students can’t write themselves yet, circle kids up and have them call out their gratitude list while the teacher writes them all down.  Or, have students draw pictures of things they are most grateful for.

*Alterations for home– Do this around the table or in the living room.  Put the finished papers on the fridge.  Talk about them as a family.

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I find this works because primarily it shifts the focus of what is going wrong within a day, onto what has been going right.

And heaven knows, sometimes we all need a little shifting–

adults included.

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How do you deal with bad attitudes in the classroom?

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