“…make a special effort to include a moment of gratitude in
your daily routine. Sometime in your class, stop the lesson, and show some
appreciation to your class as a whole.”
Many of my students felt they were
unwanted misfits and many were in constant trouble over the years. Many were
ridiculed and felt like a burden on others.
On a weekly basis, I would tell my
class how much I enjoyed teaching them and how glad I was that they were in my
class. At first, they were skeptical but after hearing this at least once a
week, they started to believe me. No one wants to feel unwanted or
unappreciated.
Sometimes I would explain that when I
would get annoyed or frustrated with them, it meant I cared. If I didn’t care,
I would let them do whatever they wanted and not care if they learned anything.
But it was important to me that they learn and become productive citizens.
Many times I would tell them how much
that I respected them and how brave I felt they were to keep struggling and not
giving up.
A lot of my students had never been
told this by a teacher or even their family. The more I showed my gratitude,
the more they tried. The more I showed by example how I respected them, they
learned to show their respect back.
I liked to explain to them that we
were like a big team and we had to help each other. We had to appreciate each
other’s strengths and use them to learn from them. I explained how thankful I
was to learn from them every day. This always shocked them because they always
thought a teacher knew everything! I would show them that I learned how to be a
better teacher from them because each student is like a fingerprint and no one
person is alike. They all have different learning styles and ways of learning
that are different from each other. Every student teaches me how to be a
detective and figure out what works best for them. I explain how lucky I am
that they are patient with me as I learn this.
This attitude of gratitude also helped
me when I felt frustrated and depressed that I wasn’t making as much progress
as I would like. I would stop myself and remind myself how thankful I was for
my class. I would think about all the little steps they have taken towards
success and remind myself that change doesn’t happen overnight.
How do you show gratitude to your
class? Please share.
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