PRESENTATION OUTLINE
"The Power of a Positive Educator"
Why be a Positive Educator?
- "Years later as I think about the impact these teachers had on my life it's clear that being a positive educator not only makes you better, it makes everyone around you better."
- "Positive educators have the power to transform lives and inspire young minds to believe they can and will change the world."
My Thoughts on Why You Should be Positive:
I found this blog in the "Education Today" magazine on flipboard.com that I have been following since starting my PLN. I agree with the author about how positivity is a key component of being an effective educator. In my opinion, I believe positivity is one of the most important aspects of being a teacher because you are acting as a role model for your students and if you are negative you will be portraying a negative attitude towards them. You will constantly be setting yourself up for failure and eventually your negative attitude will make you fall down. As a teacher you want to be standing and making a positive impact on your students, so that is why being positive is the first skill you need to learn as teacher.
#1: Be Positively Contagious
"Research shows that emotions are contagious. Sincere smiles, patient kind words, encouragement and positive energy infect people in a positive way."
"When you choose to be positively contagious your positive energy has a positive impact on your students, your colleagues and ultimately your school culture."
"Your students will remember very little of what you said but they will remember 100% of how you made them feel."
#2: Take a Daily Thank You Walk
"How does it work? You simply take a walk...outside, in a mall, at your school, on a treadmill, or anywhere else you can think of, and think about all the things, big and small, that you are grateful for."
"The research shows you can’t be stressed and thankful at the same time so when you combine gratitude with physical exercise, you give yourself a double boost of positive energy."
"You flood your brain and body with positive emotions and natural antidepressants that uplift you rather than the stress hormones that drain your energy and slowly kill you."
"One of the simplest, most powerful things you can do for yourself and your students is to celebrate your daily successes."
"Instead of thinking of all things that went wrong at school each day focus on the one thing that went right."
"Try this: each night before you go to bed think about the one great thing about your day. If you do this you’ll look forward to creating more success tomorrow. Have your student's do it too!"
#4: Expect to Make a Difference
"When positive educators walk into their classroom they expect to make a difference in their student’s lives. In fact, making a difference is the very reason why they became a teacher in the first place and this purpose continues to fuel them and their teaching."
"They come to school each day thinking of ways they can make a difference and expecting that their actions and lessons will lead to positive outcomes for their students."
#5: Believe in your Students More Than They Believe in Themselves
"He had a vision for me that I couldn’t even fathom. He believed in me more than I believed in myself."
"The difference between success and failure is belief and so often this belief is instilled in us by someone else."
" You can be that person for one of your students if you believe in them and see their potential rather than their limitations."
#6: Develop Positive Relationships
"I’ve had many educators approach me and tell me that my books helped them realize they needed to focus less on rules and invest more in their relationships. The result was a dramatic increase in teacher and student performance, morale and engagement."
"To develop positive relationships you need to enhance communication, build trust, listen to them, make time for them, recognize them, show them you care through your actions and mentor them."
"The best educators stand out by showing their students and colleagues that they care about them."
"Standardized test scores rise when teachers make time to really know their students. Teacher performance improves when principals create engaged relationships with their teachers. Teamwork is enhanced when educators know and care about one another. Parents are more supportive when educators communicate with their student’s parents."
"The most powerful form of positive energy is love and this love transforms students, people and schools when it is put into action."
I chose this blog because I thought it shared an important message that every educator should know about. Positivity goes a long way and if teachers don't instill this first into their career, they will not only being doing themselves a dis-favor, but also their students and colleagues a dis-favor. I feel that teachers sometimes forget to be positive because they are so concerned about assessments or standards and they end up putting their students at a disadvantage. This is because if a teacher doesn't present a positive attitude towards his or her students, the students will recognize that and not have the drive or desire to want to succeed on their assessments.
I found it interesting how by just taking a simple walk can feed yourself with positivity. Jon Gordon made an insightful point on how your students are just as likely to catch your bad mood as the swine flu. He said, "So each day you come to school you have a choice. You can be a germ or a big dose of Vitamin C." I had never thought of it that way and his comparison made me realize how vital it is to have positive energy because in the end your student's will remember how you made them feel, not all the words you said. The smallest positive change in your attitude can go a long way in your career and benefit your students, colleagues, and school culture positively.
I thought Jon Gordon's seven ways of how to be a positive educator that I listed here in my blog were right on point because each and every one of those ideas are valuable and work together to improve the "whole educator," rather than just one aspect of the educator. You can't succeed in the work place without changing your "whole" outlook to being positive to being a positive one. This blog is a great tool for educators to share with other educators because it will remind them of how powerful positivity can be for themselves and for their students. It will greatly impact the classroom dynamic and ultimately improve student's education.
