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Can you be a happy teacher? Short answer: of course! Let’s talk about 5 ways to help you get there!
How to Be a Happy Teacher
Practical Ideas
Turn off Email Notifications!
Yes I know, it’s tough. But after working at school all day, and then grading papers for an hour at night, or planning, you do not need to have email notifications set on your phone when you are trying to have dinner with your family or taking your child to soccer, or having a long awaited girls’ night out. Turn. Them. Off. The email will be there, when you are ready and able to check it.
Work with other teachers:
I have seen some amazing collaboration between teachers that made all their lives easier. A team at my school splits the video directions and walk throughs for Seesaw. One teacher does all the math, and another does the phonics, a third does reading. Collaborative Google docs can be so helpful, as can just be bouncing ideas off peers on how to handle challenging student behavior.
Use routines:
When I was a classroom teacher, developing routines for both myself and students saved reading centers for me. Every Tuesday and Thursday the writing center was a writing prompt from my Writing Prompts Collection. Friday, the writing center was editing/finish up. Similarly with comprehension, Tuesdays we answered think about it questions, Thursdays, we did a themed activity (such as character traits, story maps), and Friday was finish up or “bonus” comprehension choice time. It was SO helpful!
Thoughtful Ideas
Say no:
Sometimes you CAN say no! You can say no to that committee. Say no to volunteering for STEM night, say no to a parent asking you to do a conference at a very difficult time slot. Saying no can give you more time and energy to say YES to your students!
Find one thing to be grateful for each day:
When I was in my twenties I actually kept a literal gratefulness journal. I think I got the idea from Oprah! Last year when the pandemic started, I decided to post something I was grateful for each night on my Instastories. Or you can just choose something as you get ready for bed. It does help! It doens’t have to be big. It could just be “no one cried in class today”, or “I had a delicious piece of chocolate” – anything big or small you are grateful for!
Bonus: Staying organized might help you throughout the day and improve your chances of being happy! Check out some tips here to stay organized while teaching hybrid or remotely.
Do you have another suggestion as to how teachers can be happy? Comment and let us know!
