Hello, ¡Hola!, Bonjour, Ahlan, Nín Hăo, Guten Tag OWL’ers!
It’s February! This time of year tends to drag us down: we feel tired, frustrated, and like the school year is never going to end.
I wonder, however, if all these feelings are keeping me from having a joyful classroom. A study recently was published by Educational Psychology shows that consistent praise to our students gives a 30% increase in good behavior!
So, how can we take that knowledge and put it on ourselves?
- Talk to yourself in positive ways! The more good things we say about ourselves, the more our bodies will believe it! Check out this article on ways to positive self talk yourself.
- Talk to your colleagues in a positive way! We’ve all had those teacher’s room conversations about “those kids”, but we can have productive conversations around our dilemmas as well. Check out this protocol from the School Reform Initiative. It will take the “yeah buts” out of every conversation.
- Self care is vitally important to our ability to maintain stamina throughout the school year. Check out this TED talk from Anne Lamont. She’ll inspire you to take some time just for you.
So share with us! What are you doing to keep yourself and your classroom energized and engaged this February? Tag OWL in your ideas on social media, or share in the OWL Collaborative. We all can learn, grow, and gain energy from one another.