I have written about this before, but I am incredibly lucky to have a colleague in my department who is also a very close friend outside of work. It would take pages to list the ways she has helped me to grow professionally – both as we work together to plan our courses, and in the way we rely on each others’ advice to navigate the different situations that arise each day as a matter of course.
One thing that Molly started doing in the fall was taking time each day to focus on one positive thing that happened, then writing it down – to put in a jar labeled with the quote “every day may not be good, but there is something good thing in every day.”
Throughout the fall, we sometimes shared our “good things” from the day – and I found it to be not only a nice thing to do (it’s therapeutic to talk about your day with someone), but actually a way to keep me really focused on the positive: a reminder of how our small daily interactions can actually have meaningful consequences. On the hardest teaching days, sifting through to remember those good things can be a way to make sure the stress, the exhaustion, and the various tough situations we face as teachers don’t drown out the small moments that are gems.
So, I stole the idea (something I find myself doing frequently – it’s nice to be surrounded by creative, intelligent people!) and made it social and collaborative. The group blog one good thing is a shared space where we are just beginning to collect our teaching stories. Right now, there’s a small group of authors (a couple of my colleagues, a couple of math twitter friends, and a friend from college) who are challenging themselves to reflect on – and document – that one good thing. If you’d like to participate and post to the blog, just let me know. I think it’s going to be a worthwhile endeavor.
Me!
By: Ratna on 01.09.2013
at 10:24 pm
After I tell Mr. HalfFull about all the awful things that happened in my day, he usually asks me if anything good happened. Sometimes it’s hard to focus on that, but usually I can pick one thing, even if it’s small and seems inconsequential. It’s so important to remember that there is some good, even on a bad day.
Good luck with the new blog!
By: Ms. HalfEmpty on 01.11.2013
at 1:12 pm
[…] has started a group blog called “one good thing.” She wrote about it here, and you can visit the blog […]
By: One Good Thing « Continuous Everywhere but Differentiable Nowhere on 01.14.2013
at 10:43 pm
I love this idea and would love to contribute. Especially today when I had a horrible end to my day, and I had great colleagues to help me through and even greater kids at tutoring who made me laugh and made it mostly okay.
By: Shireen D on 01.15.2013
at 10:50 pm
I love this idea, too, and would really like to contribute.
By: Rebecka Peterson on 01.20.2013
at 5:55 pm
[…] : Project Life templates A & F – Kit : Alive by Scooty’s Designs –3*4 Quote card – Fonts : Dosis, Bebas, Bebas neue, Dawning of a new day, Broken, Bizarrerie, Bodoni […]
By: Project Life 2013 | Semaine 03 « FibiScrap on 01.26.2013
at 11:43 am
[…] One Good Thing (by @rdkpickle, the post that started it all) […]
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at 8:51 pm