Need for Hope and Inspiration

In 11 Ways to Increase Hope and Inspiration @DavidGeurin Blog, David Geurin shares,

“So I wanted to share a few thoughts on ways to inspire others, some ways to offer hope. If it seems like you've experienced more despair and hopelessness recently, you're not alone. I think that's a common experience for educators right now.”

I read this article and thought it was great! There were great ideas and inspiration but I hope the author posts this again in the middle of the school year too.

It is easy at the beginning of the year to feel motivated and energized because you have had all summer to “rest” (even though I’ve never met a teacher who rested during the summer!). The beginning of the year is always exciting and new but by the middle of the year, things get slower and older. This is the time I think people need to be reminded of hope and inspiration.

So, if you find things that inspire you, bookmark them, file them, or print them out and put them in a file to be looked at in the future. Many people share things that can be very inspiring but right now you don’t have the time to really look at them and get what you need from them. Don’t forget about these things or throw them away. They may come in handy in the future.

When you are discouraged and feeling down, it is time to pull out that file or bookmarks and remind yourself that there is hope for success. These things will help pull you out of the doldrums just when you need them.

There is hope and inspiration out there!

Photo by Dayne Topkin on Unsplash

Have Faith in Learning

I recently watched an episode of Code Black the other day and it involved having faith. The character in the show Emmanuel says, 

“ You're human. And humans want answers. The answers you need don't come with photographic evidence. They require that you believe in something you can't see. After all, that's why we call it faith, isn't it? Otherwise we'd call it proof.”

That really struck a chord in me because I feel the same way with learning.

I believe that everyone can learn.

I believe that everyone learns in their own way.

I believe that we never should give up.

Sometimes we may have to change our goals but that is okay and doesn’t diminish our effort.

Sometimes we feel so frustrated and the urge to give up is very strong. It is at this time that we need to be even stronger and believe that we can make a change in our own lives.

I can’t show proof of this to my students but when I begin teaching them, I’m asking them to have faith in me and my beliefs. By asking them to have faith, I’m asking that they put in time and effort into something that I can’t prove.

This faith in learning is hard for my students. Over time, many people have let them down and they might have even let themselves down. This leap of faith involves trust which not something my students give easily.

But I need to keep trying to get my students to believe. They need to believe in their teachers and in the system. They need to believe in themselves. This belief will help them be successful in their lives.

How do you get your students to have faith in learning? Please share.

Hope for the USA

In The Inside Secrets from Sioux's Page by Sioux, she asks,
“What are your hopes for the United States?”

I had to really think about this and this is what I came up with. They are listed in the order as I thought of them and not in the order of priority.

I hope:

1.      We find a cure for lupus. (My sister has had it for years.)

2.      We find a cure for cancer. (I’ve lost many friends from this.)

3.      We take the money we give to other countries and use it on our hungry and homeless in our country.

4.      We make the education system realistic and relevant to our children, the future leaders of our country.

5.      We stop making redundant and ridiculous laws just to make politicians look good.

6.      We take care of elderly and retired citizens instead of taking more of their hard earned money and making it worth less.

7.      We stop raising taxes at a time when the economy is in trouble.

8.      We elect people who want to better our country rather than themselves and their friends.

9.      We hold people accountable for their actions and stop making excuses for them.

10.  We treat people fairly rather than according to their economic status, race, religion, or gender.

11.  We encourage people to nurture their strengths in order to better the world.

12.  We stop enabling people to become helpless and help them become useful to society.

13.  We stop putting artificial preservatives and steroids in our food.

14.  We stop charging extra for organic food.

15.  We make the cost of living reasonable for all people.

16.  We make school some place that children want to go rather than have to go. 

What are your hopes for the United States? Please share.

Image: 'We're thinking of you'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/26406919@N00/291488094
Found on flickrcc.net

There’s Always Hope

In Optimism and Teaching, Where's the Line? from The Wise Owls - Tales from an Ag Ed classroom, the writer asks,

“Reading this, I guess the question I am raising in telling this story is, where do you give up that tiny bit of optimism and put it to use somewhere else? And for that matter, once you begin the cycle of letting go of that optimism towards a certain group of students, are you ever going to stop? Isn't it my responsibility as an educator to help every student learn and have opportunities at experiences that will help them later in life and broaden their horizons? Or do I only focus my energy on those kids who already have the motivation to do this things on their own, because it's not as exhausting or poor use of my time?”

This really hit home to me because at times in my career, I have asked myself these questions time and time again.

I think frustration and exhaustion make these questions pop up in a teacher’s mind. But I believe there’s always hope.

I remember working with a bunch of elementary school students and feeling bad when they were unsuccessful. I felt bad when they didn’t apply the skills I taught them into other situations. I felt bad when they misbehaved when I knew they could do better. I wanted more for them and I wanted them to want more for themselves. But they didn’t learn bad habits and develop low self esteem overnight, so it would take time. I needed to be consistent and patient because there’s always hope. I couldn’t lose hope because many times, the students have already lost it. It was up to me to give them hope.

I had a fifth grade student who ran away from home because he felt there was no hope. When we found him, (yes, I joined the search in the middle of the night), I told him that we would work together and that there was always hope and not to give up.

During the years I taught high school, I have helped student through many difficult situations. I had a student tell me she was pregnant and wanted me to help her tell her parents. I had students who committed crimes and needed to face up to what they had done. I had students contemplating doing the wrong things because of peer pressure and I was able to discuss this with them and help them make the right decisions. But sometimes things didn’t always work out the way I wanted or thought they should. But there was always hope. Hope that things would eventually turn out for the better. There was hope that the students would learn from the consequences of their actions. There was hope that later in life, they will remember that there is always hope and not give up trying.

As a teacher, we might not see the good results right then or even tomorrow or the next week or the next month. But I believe that someday, a lesson we share with the students may one day be useful to them. I know this because I can’t tell you how many times in my own life that something pops up that I remember learning in school. If it happens to me, there’s no telling how many times it happens in our students lives that we never know about.

I once had a colleague tell me that I saw the world through rose colored glasses and that I needed to stop thinking I could save the world. She felt like I would burn myself out if I continued to try to save everyone.

But I think she was wrong. I never regretted trying to save each and every one of my students. Sure, they may not have appreciated it at the time or even shown any gratitude at the sacrifices that I might be making. But maybe sometime in their life when they are all alone and feel there is nothing left, they can remember me telling them that there is always hope. Feeling optimistic about their future is never a waste of time.

I may not be able to change them right away or even see the change at the time. But I know that I can’t give up on them. I can’t give up on any of them. Maybe this is just me but that is one reason I became a teacher. I remember a time as a student when I thought there was no hope and wanted someone so badly to be there to tell me not to give up.

I think that is why I save all the good notes and pictures from former students and parents. When I get down in the dumps and wonder why I keep beating myself against the wall, I remember these people who have touched my life and how I might have touched their lives in return. Then I think about those that I might not even realize I have touched and continue to keep trying. These memories revive in me the hope that I know is out there.

So, like that old story that states, “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.” I have to say, each and every one of our students need to know that there is always hope.

Posted on the Successful Teaching Blog by loonyhiker (successfulteaching at gmail dot com).

Original image: 'Hope_in_a_better_future'
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30488702@N03/2889103451 by: Massimo Valiani

Don’t Give Up Hope

In Courageous Online But Still Cowardly Lion in my School from Blogush, Paul Bogush states,

“So why don’t I ask people in my school for help? Because right now I am on a different path. I have already been on their path. I have seen where it leads. I want to travel on a path less traveled, and I don’t know anyone who wishes to join me, or know anyone who has walked down it…My online “friends” and I share a common belief. A common vision. A common dream. Online people push me to travel further down my path. They warn me about the dangers ahead. They support me when I fall. But most importantly, they never, ever, tell me to turn back. They push, pull, and cheer me onward. The inspire me with their words, actions, and comments. They are the ones I want to be like. I have 100’s of online role models and consider myself very lucky to be in their company.”

When I read that, it made me sad to realize that I felt like that often too. Then I hoped that I was one of those online people that Paul talks about. And if I am one of those people, then there are people that feel this way too but they may be closer to me than just online. Maybe we just don’t know how to find each other. I realized this when I attended the local technology conference last week. When it first started four years ago, there were only 200 people attending. This year there were 1000 participants. It may be slow but the growth is there. Hopefully like the ripple in the water, it will continue to grow. If each one of these participants share and teach someone else, then the effects will be felt on a wider scale. Maybe next year, even more people will be able to attend.

At the conference, someone told me that they didn’t even feel like they were making a difference. At first I felt disheartened when I heard this. Then I realized it was up to me to give them hope, just like Paul talks about. We were sitting there face to face, not online and I had a chance to give someone the support that others have given me. I had to make sure this person understood that we are making a difference, little by little. Maybe we won’t see the results today or tomorrow or even next year. But somewhere down the road, we will have made an impact and we are changing the world. I see the effects I had on lives over twenty years ago when former students contact me and let me know how I made a difference in their lives. It is stories like this that gives me hope. It makes me realize that we have to keep pushing the people around us, not just our online friends who have the “common dreams” we do. We have to “push, pull, and cheer” the ones who don’t have the same dreams we do. Otherwise we become stagnant or possibly lose any ground that has been made in getting people to think differently. We can make a difference and we cannot give up hope. Eventually people around us will have the common vision and dream as us.

Original image: 'Maui Wowie!' http://www.flickr.com/photos/46042146@N00/618971656 by: Randy