Hello again.
Here is the latest post about the Amazing Teacher Pledge – a set of 10 promises that I believe all amazing teachers make.
To recap, here are the first six promises of the Amazing Teacher Pledge:
1. I promise to create amazing lesson plans.
2. I promise to keep learning.
3. I promise to communicate with parents.
4. I promise to be my students’ source of praise.
5. I promise to not “lose it” in the classroom.
6. I promise to avoid negative teachers.
Here is promise number 7:
I promise to be in a good mood every day.
I know what your saying, “Sam, that is impossible!”
You’re probably right, but we have to at least try.
I know that there are some times when things happen – the car breaks down, you have an argument with your spouse, there is some really bad news on TV – and we feel justified in telling the class, “Today, I’m not in a good mood. Just do your work and be quiet.”
I’m ashamed to say, that I’ve said those exact words.
It’s not fair – to the kids.
Our students deserve better.
Why should they have suffer along with us?
We wouldn’t accept this. For example, if we went to a concert expecting to hear our favorite musical artist, we would be really upset if he/she came out and said, “Today, I’m really not feeling it, so don’t expect too much tonight.” Our kids come expecting us to give them a memorable experience – every day.
We might even have a legitimate reason to be in a less-than-chipper mood. Perhaps there was a death in the family or your own children are sick or you received some bad news right before entering your class. We still need to put on our happy face and give the students our best efforts. This is what amazing teachers do.
Like I mentioned in an earlier post, one of the most amazing teachers I know lost a loved one during the school year. She had every right to take a break from being amazing. Instead, she walked into her classroom with a smile on her face every day, and her students never knew what she was going through. Amazing.
Kids will be understanding and patient. They’ll even behave better for a teacher if they know that the teacher is having some other crisis outside of school. That’s how kids are.
It still doesn’t give us the license to pull the “bad mood” card and give them less than our best.
I have had students tell me, “I don’t like going to that teacher’s class. She’s always in a bad mood.”
I think that is sad. Our kids should love coming to our class, even if they aren’t too crazy about the subject. I hated History, until I was a student in a the class of an amazing teacher, who just happened to teach History. She was never in a bad mood.
We are the “mood thermostat” in our room. How we enter the room will determine how the class will run.
This promise, I know, is a tough one to keep, but if we want to be that amazing teacher who our kids deserve, we have to do our best to leave whatever is causing us to be in a bad mood oustide the classroom door.
We can do this. Really!
What do you think? I would love to hear your thoughts about this promise. If you agree, please share using one of the share buttons below.
Until next time,
Be amazing!
Sam
Don’t forget to take the Amazing Teacher Pledge! Click Here to be Amazing!