At CT3, we believe that building life-altering relationships is a journey, not a destination. Therefore, taking time to reflect and celebrate the small wins is a critical practice. This is not only refreshing, it also builds momentum and creates motivation. Check out this great article, originally posted on Edutopia that embodies the essence of finding Triumph in Small Victories:
Aside from their love for their students and their love of learning, what keeps teachers doing the tough job of teaching? In part, it’s those slight — or not so slight — accomplishments throughout their day.
It could be that moment when your student comprehends something that has been perplexing throughout a unit of study, or when you’ve finally mastered — sort of — that online attendance program your school district adopted this year. Who knows! The zany, spontaneous, anything-can-happen daily adventure of a teacher is anything but dull. It’s not a job for those looking for predictability, nor is it very rewarding for those who overlook the little leaps that are made each day in the classroom.
As educators, not only is it important to reflect on our own day-to-day accomplishments, we need to do so with our colleagues and communities as well. We asked the Edutopia community to share their small wins, and we gathered some of the favorite remarks. We invite you to add to the celebration by sharing a small victory — or not so small — in the comments section below.
“A smile from a super, super quiet and shy seventh-grade student — just this morning!” — Kelly Leonard
“A special education student passed her division test!” — Kristi Wl
“I had a note left under my windshield wiper from a challenging student I had last year in the eighth grade that I went out of my way to help. He said he missed me as a teacher, but especially missed my video productions class. Made me feel better on a day I was feeling sick.” — Spencer Folkerts
“A mostly non-verbal three-year-old clearly said, ‘rainbow’ today when I was reading the class a story with a rainbow in the illustration.” — Cecelia Danziger
“A child who refused to come to school for a week due to anxiety promised me he’d come back to be in my class. He’s been here for five days straight!” — Megan Stoler Heng
“A student passed a test and was so excited that she wanted to take it home and show her mom her accomplishment. I haven’t entered it in my grade book yet, but couldn’t say no because she was so excited and proud of herself.” — Tracey C Huffman
“I was gone for three days sick. I got hugs and happy smiles. It made me feel good!” — Andy Thrush
“My students don’t want to go to snack, lunch, or even home when I stop the novel at a cliffhanger.” — Jeimy M. Gonzalez
And C.j. Goin shared this: “I once heard it said, ‘It’s not a teacher’s job to save the world; a teacher’s job is to make the world a little bit better place to live.’ If you accomplish that, you’ve succeeded.”
We couldn’t agree more. Thank you for all that you do in your classrooms each day. We look forward to hearing your stories.
By Rebecca Alber
Check out CT3 Education programs such as No-Nonsense Nurturer, Real Time Teacher Coaching, and Real Time Leadership Coaching to find out more about Professional Development for Teachers and Leaders, classroom management strategies, and building relationships with students and their families, and properly addressing important issues in the classroom and school.
Category: Culture, Relationship Building
