What Great Teachers Do Differently - Be the Filter

Be The Filter
We are about halfway through Todd Whitaker's book "What Great Teachers Do Differently".  The "Be The Filter" chapter is a great chapter for this time of the year.  February, March, and April can be tough months to get through.  Winter is dragging on, there are no breaks in sight, testing is on the horizon, teacher negotiations are ramping up, etc...  Whitaker talks about filtering out the negative to find the positive.

We all know that one person who constantly brings the negative to every conversation, we'll call her Debbie Downer.  Whenever someone asks Debbie how her day is, she starts by saying how bad her day is, or any problems she is having with her students.  If you are in a conversation with her, you need to filter that negative energy out, because it can leech into your mood as well.  If your mood is negative, your students will catch onto it very quickly.

We've also heard Debbie say, "This is the worst group of kids I have ever had".  Her grade level partners agree and also spew this negativity about this certain grade level.  Soon teachers in the grades ahead are fearing this group of kids.  This negative attitude about a certain grade level permeates throughout everything you do.  Be the filter...Filter out this toxic information and approach this grade level as you have every other year, with positive energy.

If you are dealing with a lot of negative people, pick up Whitaker's book and read chapter 10.  He will give you some strategies to filter out the negative and become the positive change you want to be.