(This the final post in a two-part series. You can see Part One here.)
How do we teachers get past tough days and ready to approach the next day fresh and positive?
Here are some ideas from educators:
Everyone deserves the gift of a fresh start that tomorrow will bring-including you.
I’m playing long ball.
As the Traveling Wilburys once said: 'Every day is just one day.'
How can I turn this oops into an opportunity?
I'll try again tomorrow.
No two days are the same.
Tomorrow will be better; go swimming, stand up paddle boarding, or for a walk, and eat something healthy tonight.
Forgive yourself and others.
Tomorrow is a new day and they will be ready for a fresh start so I need to be there with them
I play guitar for 15 minutes- sometimes softly, sometimes with the amplifier cranked up to 11.
Tomorrow’s a new day, a new opportunity.
Remember it was a bad day, not a bad life. Tomorrow is a fresh start.
Having deep personal interests outside of school (for me running & raising animals) have been therapeutic - teaching is just one of the many things I do; it doesn't define who I am.
Every day is a clean slate, for me and them.
My late parents used to tell me...'Ya mañana será otro día.'
I remind myself I have another chance tomorrow, then I blast my favorite music on the ride home.
I think about what went wrong and how I will fix it or work through it with my students the next day.
In the wise words of Nemo , 'Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!'
Thanks to everyone who contributed their thoughts!
The question-of-the-week is:
You’re a teacher, and you’ve had a very tough day in the classroom. In one sentence (not a run-on), what do you say to yourself and/or do to get beyond it and back into a positive frame of mind for the next day?
Part One shared teachers’ responses from Twitter and Facebook.
Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org. When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.
You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo.
Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It’s titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching.
Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email (The RSS feed for this blog, and for all Ed Week articles, has been changed by the new redesign—new ones are not yet available). And if you missed any of the highlights from the first 11 years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below.
- It Was Another Busy School Year. What Resonated for You?
- How to Best Address Race and Racism in the Classroom
- Schools Just Let Out, But What Are the Best Ways to Begin the Coming Year?
- Classroom Management Starts With Student Engagement
- Teacher Takeaways From the Pandemic: What’s Worked? What Hasn’t?
- The School Year Has Ended. What Are Some Lessons to Close Out Next Year?
- Student Motivation and Social-Emotional Learning Present Challenges. Here’s How to Help
- How to Challenge Normative Gender Culture to Support All Students
- What Students Like (and Don’t Like) About School
- Technology Is the Tool, Not the Teacher
- How to Make Parent Engagement Meaningful
- Teaching Social Studies Isn’t for the Faint of Heart
- Differentiated Instruction Doesn’t Need to Be a Heavy Lift
- How to Help Students Embrace Reading. Educators Weigh In
- 10 Strategies for Reaching English-Learners
- 10 Ways to Include Teachers in Important Policy Decisions
- 10 Teacher-Proofed Strategies for Improving Math Instruction
- Give Students a Role in Their Education
- Are There Better Ways Than Standardized Tests to Assess Students? Educators Think So
- How to Meet the Challenges of Teaching Science
- If I’d Only Known. Veteran Teachers Offer Advice for Beginners
- Writing Well Means Rewriting, Rewriting, Rewriting
- Christopher Emdin, Gholdy Muhammad, and More Education Authors Offer Insights to the Field
- How to Build Inclusive Classrooms
- What Science Can Teach Us About Learning
- The Best Ways for Administrators to Demonstrate Leadership
- Listen Up: Give Teachers a Voice in What Happens in Their Schools
- 10 Ways to Build a Healthier Classroom
- Educators Weigh In on Implementing the Common Core, Even Now
- What’s the Best Professional-Development Advice? Teachers and Students Have Their Say
- Plenty of Instructional Strategies Are Out There. Here’s What Works Best for Your Students
- How to Avoid Making Mistakes in the Classroom
- Looking for Ways to Organize Your Classroom? Try Out These Tips
- Want Insight Into Schooling? Here’s Advice From Some Top Experts
I am also creating a Twitter list including all contributors to this column.
