The other day, I overheard a colleague having a conversation with a student. My colleague asked the student, “Why are you here?” The student responded by asking the same question to my colleague. My colleague replied with, “I’m here because I have to be here.” It was at that moment, I knew a learning opportunity was missed. You see, that student just heard that a teacher is only there because they have to be. Even though that statement is true contractually, what was suggested is that the teacher would rather be somewhere else than teaching students.
Take a second to listen to the response from the students perspective. What did you hear? Did you hear that the teacher was excited to be doing their job? Did you hear that the teacher cared about their students? Probably not. What I heard was, “I really don’t want to be here”, or “This is just a job to me.” The words we use with our students will have a lasting impact on our students. If we have an attitude of apathy and annoyance, or show that we are disinterested and indifferent, then students are going to read those feelings and detach from the learning environment. If they perceive that their teacher doesn’t care, then why should they?
I have been in similar situations, and I have wanted to reply the same way my colleague did. However, I know that there is power in the words we say to our students no matter how minute they may be. I also have a different mindset when it comes to teaching. To me, teaching is more than a job. It’s an opportunity to speak life, love, and encouragement into my students. It doesn’t matter how long you have been a teacher, it’s important to always remind yourself of the “Why” you started teaching.
Don’t get me wrong, teaching is not easy, and teachers are faced with stress, frustrations, and burnout on a near yearly basis. For some, the stress and frustrations are more than they want, and they leave the profession. I do not fault these people. It takes thick skin and almost a psychotic passion to stay in the classroom. However, I have found that the attitude I take on will determine my and my students overall success. When I have a bad day in the classroom, my students have a bad day in the classroom. If I adjust my attitude, my students will adjust their attitude. And of course, if I have a great attitude, my students usually follow suit and have a great attitude with me. What I reflect in the classroom will be what my students reflect back to me.
All of this takes practice and intentionality. I have plenty of bad days, and I go home on numerous occasions wanting to not go back to the classroom. However, after decompressing, talking with my wife, and having a good night’s sleep, I find myself rejuvenated and ready to start again. It is important to not bring what happened the previous day back into the classroom with you. Every day is a new day with new opportunities. We tell this to our students, and the same should apply to us teachers. The attitude you bring into the classroom will determine the overall day you will have with your students. If your attitude sucks, your day will suck. If your attitude is fake, students will see through it, and your day will suck. However, if you purpose within yourself to check your attitude and intentionally work on having a good attitude, your students will respond in the same way.
As I said earlier, it doesn’t matter if you just started teaching, or if you have been in the profession for a myriad of years, don’t forget why you wanted to be a teacher. For most of us, we started teaching because we wanted to make a difference in the lives of students. We wanted to speak life, love, and words of encouragement into our students. Let the “Why” reflect in your attitude toward your students and your colleagues. And remember, it’s okay to have bad days, but don’t let one bad day determine your success for the rest of the week.
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