cc licensed flickr photo shared by Mr. Kris
I love my job. I have to start my post with that. Some days (and sometimes weeks) it does seem like a full moon and you are not really sure what is going on. Although these days are less and less, today felt like that. Admittedly, I think I have found a way to have less of “those days”.
Reading Michelle Baldwin’s post on how she wanted to make amends for her teaching inadequacies of the past, I reflected on one of my biggest weaknesses today; holding a grudge.
Earlier in my career, when a student would have done something wrong, I would say “tomorrow is a new day”, but I would not show that belief in my actions towards the offender. As I grew as an educator, I learned that getting upset about the actions of students was something that I would no longer take ownership for. I knew that if I continued to do this, my teaching career would either end early or be continuously miserable. I needed to make a change.
As the principal of my school, I deal with all types of things. I knew that how I dealt with kids would set the tone for how our entire staff dealt with students. Now, not only do I let things go when students make mistakes, I actually go out of my way to spend some time to ensure the student knows that I care for them as well. It lets them know that no matter what mistake they made, I am still going to do my best to care for them. When I have screwed up as an adult, simply returning the next day does not ease my mind around those I work with. I want to know that I have not lost any worth in my colleagues’ eyes. This is a normal reaction of most people. As the adults in the building, we have to not only give kids a new start, but we should go that extra mile to let our students know that we still care for them.
Even when it is one of those days, we still need to show we care about the students that messed up. I believe that the more we do this, “those” days will start to be less and less.
