Teacher Sanity Alphabet

A

Antiperspirant. 

Apply it daily on your armpits to avoid embarrasing stains or odour. It is your security blanket. No matter how stressed/tired/in a hurry you are, you know you’re at least safe.

B

Be your best.

You can’t make everyone happy. You know that. But make sure you’re doing your best at everything you do. From small things to big. Be your best. 

C

Calm. 

Calm starts within you. If you want your class to be calm - it all honestly starts with you. Don’t expect your kids to be in a managable state, if you’re angry or frustrated. 

D

Do.

There is always something you can do. 

There are so many great things you can produce. Such a great deal of work to be started and finished, all the things from your list to be ticked off. So many other teachers are waiting to be inspired by you! Start doing it all NOW! (or best: when you finish reading this post…)

E

Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. 

Yes, you do need a reminder to sit down and do those 2 simple things consecutively every now and then. 

F

Facilitate.

If you arrange group work in your class and your kids are so occupied in their little teams that they don’t notice you, you should be proud of yourself. That’s your job! Facilitating is so much more important than lecturing or permanently giving instructions.  

G

Grow.

Be a life-long learner. Look for avenues which will enhance your development. Read, attend conferences, webinars, e-learning workshops, write. Be interested. Be commited to your personal and professional growth. Don’t sit still. 

H

Sense of humor. 

It is guaranteed more kids will like you, so they will probably learn more from you, if you’ve got that groove. But it will also help you stay sane. 

I

Inspire and find inspirations. As simple as that.

J

Joy

Come to work with a smile on your face. Like what you do. Know that you are important. Find significance in your job. 

K

Keep quiet. 

It is so easy to say too much. Especially when you’re angry. The kids will always remember you screamed at them or when you said that one word too much. It will come and haunt you. It’s better to say nothing. When you don’t know what to say: say nothing. When you’re angry and you know you’ll probably say too much: say nothing. 

L

Live.

Get a life other than your classroom. 

M

Positive Mindset.

Being happy is a spiritual habit. It’s not a series of misfortunes that happen to you that bring you down, it’s what inside your head. YOU decide if you want to focus on the positive or negative aspects of all situations.

N

Noise.

Where there’s noise, there is life. Children make noise. Make sure you are comfortable with it. Do not stress youself over everybody wanting to share their thoghts with you at the same time. Walk through the corridor looking at the children’s conversations and plays. When you’ll finally reach silence, you’ll be able to cherish it much more.

O

Organize.

Get your space organized. Clutter makes it hard to get yourself together. Make some room on your desk, segregate, put in order, group, sort, arrange. And most importantly: throw out. Don’t be afraid to throw things out. The space you’re left with will bring you new ispirational ideas. Organizing and throwing out are therapeutic.  

P

Patience.

That’s the thing you must work on everyday. It is crucial for those kids to know you are patient enough to wait for their thoughts, they need to feel they matter to you. 

How else will you know if they mastered the taught material? How else will you know their self-initiated actions? How else will you know the impact you’ve made on them? Have the patience with your students.

Q

Quit.

Run away from silly talks, all that gossiping and stupid accusations. Don’t drag out. Don’t mull over.  Let ‚yeah, yeah’ be your answer and then change the subject. Or walk away. 

R

Reset. 

Find a hobby, give birth to a child, take some time off. 

If you feel overwhelmed, you need to step back and let some of your work go. In order to reset your mind, you need to completely change the environment.

S

Shelter.

Find a shelter and make sure all your ways eventually follow you there. 

Whether it’s your home, church, diary, best friend, woods or goodness knows what: take care of it. So that you’ll always be able to come back to it.

T

Team.

Give yourself time to become a team with your class. 

U

Use.

You can do so much more than you think. The possibilities are in you and all around you. Use what you find around to realise your plan. Dream and use what you can to make it come true. 

V

Venture.

Have you ever heard that saying: „Do what you’re afraid to do”? It is so true! Try to overcome your fear, your limitations, your thoughts and dare to do something you would never suspect you were capable of. I was asked by my Principal to host a show onstage for hundreds of people and I found out I loved it! Seriously, the things that you dare to do are the things that teach you the most. And you make the best memories that way. 

W

Whatever. 

Just say: whatever. Nevermind. Remember, that you can’t undo what had happened. You are not able to change some of the people or events that you encounter in your life but remember: those are the people and events that will not affect you in the smallest way.

Just wave those things off, say „whatever" and move on!

X

Xero Copy Machine.

It will be one of your best friends. It will get to hear your pain, you can tell it everything, it won’t spill out to anyone. Therefore be gentle with it. Learn how to fix those paper jams. Treat that Xero copy machine with some respect.   

Y

Yourself.

If you have a problem, start from yourself. Find the strength in yourself to overcome it. Give the problem little time to overgrow your capabilities. Energetically and thoughtfully find a way to heal the situation. Do what you can. And move on.

Z

„Iggety, Ziggety, Zaggety, Zoom!”

Get that spirit of surprise incorporated in your lessons. Kids love to be surprised. They’ll be forever grateful for an intriguing question, a mystery box, a guest or another surprise. That surprise will be your prize!