I’m not naturally a positive person, but as a teacher, it kind of grows on you.  I send my co-workers texts about how awesome they are (and they are), I smile at my students an awful lot (ouch my face hurts!), and we laugh about many different things in class.  Like many of us, I refer to my room as the “safe” room, a place to make mistakes, to laugh and just know that you are valued and trusted.

However, as I listen to my students, they’ve taken a dangerous turn.  I’ve got a group who are not being truthful with where they are going to parents, another group who tend to roam the streets, and another group who’s just it is to look down their noses at the first two groups.  And we aren’t talking inner city stuff, it’s rural Iowa for goodness sake! 😦

Ouch.

Honestly, this is one of those draw backs in looping with a class, you get to see the true good, bad, and ugly of who they are.  These are like my own kids, I’ve been with them so much, and I worry about them constantly.  Thankfully, much of this is coming to light as our parent teacher conferences are rolling in, so there will be some tough conversations had, which I hope lead to more such things going on at home.

It’s easy for us to be positive when the going is good.  However, when things aren’t going so hot, keeping that positive vibe suddenly becomes much more challenging.  I am in awe of those people on social media who are able to keep that positive, sunny side day after day.  For me, the darkness shows up, and it takes some effort to keep it moving along, keeping myself in a good place.

There’s a quote out there somewhere about the positive teachers being the ones who are embracing social media, and I believe this to be so true.  The network I’ve put together are some of the most positive, uplifting people I’ve ever come across, and one of the reasons I tweet too much is for that very reason.  I need to dose of positive right now because I’m emptying my tank keeping my students and myself from turning to that darkness.

So, being positive, that’s easy, but maintaining that positivity, keeping it flowing from day to day, that’s the true test.  To those who help keep my spirits up, I appreciate all you do and hope that someday, I can return the favor!  Your words and positive energy have been much needed this year!