4/2/2022 0 Comments Facing FailureThe world is filled with adversity: poverty, crime, violence, neglect, war, hunger, homelessness... the list goes on. The key to overcoming obstacles is said to lie not in programs or grants, policies or politics... but in ourselves. People who are resilient will overcome obstacles when others simply give up or give in. I'm thrilled that my senior English curriculum is focused on the theme of Resilience this quarter. What better theme to send my seniors out into the world with? Be realistic. Be mindful. Be resourceful. Embrace failure and learn from it. Go forth and change the future. Currently I'm working on transferring my resilience lessons into TPT resources to share with others. The first one I have is Facts About Failure. It includes thoughtful discussion questions about the ups and downs of failure, an article to read and discuss, and *super cute* posters that take the ideas from the article and pair them with a positive mantra! Check them out on my TPT store here :) Who would have thought that such a great theme would come at such a pivotal time in my life? I've had a *ton* of crappy stuff happen in the past two weeks that has made me super bitter, jaded, and angry at humanity. I'm just disappointed in people. I expect people to treat me like I'd treat them... but I am seeing that doesn't always happen. My heart hurts at the jealousy, selfishness, and pettiness I see around me (mostly adults ya'll... mostly adults). And then I find out... I will most likely be displaced from my job. UGH. All that piled on my heart, and I get to teach my seniors about resilience. When life kicks you when you're down, how do you find the strength to get back up again? And again? And again? A few of the ideas that I want to share with you from my research include the following:
So I am healing as I am planning and teaching. I'm realistic that while my situation sucks, I do have a variety of options to move forth with. I know that this will help me make my life more meaningful by forcing me to choose what it is I really want to devote my time to. I'm being creative by looking at opportunities that scare me to death (college adjunct online? changing districts? stay-at-home-mom?). I have a snowball's chance in hell, but I'm still putting myself out there to try all options. My sarcasm and dry humor is at full force; memes are especially helpful with this ;) And I'm journaling my thoughts to help me see where I'm exaggerating, jumping to conclusions, playing the victim, or limiting my options. In my senior English classroom we are talking about how relevant these learnings are to their lives. They've never really been able to process the trauma of COVID and the shutdown. Some are in abusive relationships, living on their own or homeless, dealing with severe depression or anxiety, in danger of not graduating... the list of struggles goes on and on. And yet they continue to take another breath, take another step, go through the motions. They are literally in the "fake it till you make it" stage. I polled them on which elements of resilience they were best at. While the results varied, I was surprised to see that they feel they survive on creativity and humor. They liked my memes too :) Our students are going to be okay-- most of them, anyway. And I am so grateful that I've had them this year, and they've had these lessons, to know that there is hope. They can grow their resilience through intentionality and experiences. And by sharing these resources and lessons with them, I too know that I will be okay. No matter what comes of my current situation, I will rise.
0 Comments
|
AuthorA midwest teacher in love with creating awesome opportunities for students to think, communicate, and produce. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/The-Comfortable-Classroom
Archives
August 2023
Categories |