As I reflect on myself over the last year, I’m not that positive of a person, but am a work in progress.  There’s always something: kids, wife, house, kids, car, heifers, weeds, kids – you get the idea!

 

However, for the five of you who read this (whoo hoo, one more follower), you may have noticed a subtle change, but a change all the same.  While much of what I talk about is education, the tone of my writing has turned a bit, away from just simply the facts, towards looking at the positive things happening.  Sure I’m stressed, find me a teacher who isn’t, yet I’m finding more and more good things around me.  And even if there aren’t many, I can still see the positives as my students walk into my room.

 

Today, I worked to find pass out that positive both to those in my personal learning network (PLN) and at school as well.  As I’ve told a few people now, you allow that positive vibe to flow through you, it will find it’s way back to you.  I’m not sure, but my own students could feel it in a slight schedule change we had, I had a couple of people tweet back their own positive message, and I found this awesome article titled “Teachers: Staying Positive in Trying Times” tweeted out via @randyISEA.  It’s a simple article, but had such a positive vibe in it that I just had goose bumps reading it.  It’s not often that you feel that power of positive thinking, but wow, today just seemed to flow.

 

So, what does this all mean?  Not sure! 🙂  For me, it’s just another one of those “keep it positive” moments that I need so I can be there for my co-workers.  Many are in tougher situations then I, so if I can be positive, find the good things they are doing, and encourage them to keep on fighting the good fight, then so be it.  If I can encourage my own students to keep fighting, keep trying and finding the good in them, all the better yet.  It’s hard, and we all struggle, but in the above mentioned article this is what I’d like to leave you with:

 

Pinpoint what you love about education and live in it.

 

I absolutely LOVED this first one.  It’s what I am and where I am so do that, find what you love, and live it!  If it’s your students, do it, love them to pieces.  If it’s the data (you are weird of course), but dive into and find how it works for you!  However, it’s who we are and what we do.  Be that educator and love it! 🙂