Posting these back to back is necessary, lest I come across as this brooding pessimist of a person.
Recently, I participated in an online course with some colleagues at work called Teaching Character and Creating Positive Classrooms. The premise is that teaching character traits should be done alongside the academic curriculum. I have always incorporated aspects of this mentality, but the course was a wonderful reminder to make this kind of teaching more explicit.
The course helped me to evaluate my own character strengths and to rank my priorities. These are traits that not only help one in school, but in life. Things like grit, optimism, gratitude, humor, creativity and open-mindedness. It's about WHAT we teach, but also the process BY WHICH we achieve the content; the process, the character traits that help one find success in accessing the curriculum.
This course was a great reflective tool, a chance for me to take stock of what I have been doing well and what I could be doing better with my own students, and at home with my husband and son as a wife and a mother. Humans are a constantly evolving species if we want to be and I think that is good.
Enter a book I just finished entitled The Mommy Myth, which discredits the New Momism in which the media has basically built an entire empire out of the things that all mommies should have and be. Things that are unrealistic, unnecessary and utterly ridiculous. I don't subscribe to any of that, and am more "old school" than most people I know in terms of parenting style, but there are things the author of the book sarcastically complains about that I actually do believe in and feel mothers this day in age are better off for doing or being than they were say, 20-30 years ago. Nonetheless, the book made me look hard at my and my husband's parenting style and consider where we stand. And I like where we're at. It made me feel proud, like we give Aiston our quality time and attention and love, but also set clear boundaries and help him grow as a little person by instilling the character traits mentioned above.
Lastly, Cory and I just finished creating a book about Aiston's story from birth to Family Day (the day he came home forever) with all of the details and photos we could manage to collect and it was really uplifting and therapeutic to celebrate how he came to connect us and make us stronger people. I know all parents feel this way about their own children, but I will say it anyway: Aiston is an incredible kid and we are so lucky to call him our son. He is a gorgeous personality and seeing the world through his eyes is an experience we do not take for granted. He keeps us on our toes and gives us a reason to persevere, stay true to who we are and look forward to all the positive things life has to offer. We are beyond fortunate.
How's that for a mood-lifter, in comparison to the previous post?
2 comments:
I read both of your posts and it completely resonated with me. This year has been a tough one for me as well. I found myself just swapped by all sorts of feelings about teaching and whether or not I was doing a good job of it (and life in general-- am I doing ok at being a human?). I think that when we reach the amount of time doing the same thing it can seem a little monotonous. There is a lot of pressure that is placed on education in general, and what I find is that most good teachers place a lot of pressure on themselves without all that other bureaucratic nonsense. I am so glad you were able to reflect on you as a teacher, where you're going, what you're doing. It really helps to get re-inspired, but also to figure out what you want to do next. Thank you for such amazing posts. It really is nice to know that I'm not the only one feeling overwhelmed by the pressures of daily life. Yes, I'm happy for a job, a roof over my head, and food on my plate. I understand that. But there is also the human need to feel safe, challenged, and happy with the things you are doing and spending so much of your time doing. Inspiration can come from anywhere, but it's up to us to do something with that inspiration. Thinking about you!
Hang in there my beautiful daughter, don't ever forget to reflect on all the positives too (I know you do) because truly there are so many things we cannot control, I'm so proud to know that you try so hard, I always thank God for you, Cory and my little Ace every day, can't wait until you are here again........
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