Gratitude begins with thanking yourself. To do this, first focus on your strengths and what you are proud to have accomplished. This may be completing your lesson plans in advance, analyzing your student assessment data (for growth and needs) and appropriately preparing for differentiating content for your students. We can be grateful for how we are creating a supportive learning experience for each of our students and how we are growing in our teaching practices. We can also consider how we are reframing our thinking, so that we look at opportunities for pinpointing future areas of strength. For example, you can reframe your thinking when looking at a stack of papers to grade, you can be encouraged by the opportunity of seeing the progress your students have accomplished.
The difference between being grateful and thankful, is that being grateful is the action one takes based upon their feelings of thankfulness. Examples of gratitude exercises include writing a hand-written note or card, making a phone call or sending an email. This way you are letting the people that mean the most to you know how they have helped you on your path.
This month as our Teaching Tuesday considers thankfulness, we will be sharing about how to incorporate this in your classroom with students, how thankfulness can help us be healthy and how to be mindful in your thoughts and actions. Remember, it starts with you. As a role model in the community, others need to see you being thankful, mindful and grateful to spread this impact with students and families.
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