Bad Days

Bad days are bound to happen in any job. When it’s a rough day in the classroom, not only do you feel the effects as a teacher, but your staff and students do as well. Here are the things I do when I have a bad day and ways to cope when things get hard. 

1. Focus On The Positive

This probably sounds silly, but it really does work. When we are stuck in the day to day, we often forget about the little wins and small gains that happen in our classroom. Those tiny things lead to big successes down the road. When we have a bad day in the classroom, one of the first things we do is to take a pause as a team and write all of the positive gains we can think of for the whole year on the whiteboard. The goal here is to help us reframe our mindset and see the progress that is easily forgetten when things get hard.

2. Review & Practice

Expecations and routines are what make our classroom run smoothly. When transitions are bumpy, when expectations aren’t met and when routines are out of sort, so are the students…. and adults! Take a minute and review the parts of your day that were difficult. Once you’ve reflected on the bad part, think about what you want those times to look like. Once you have identified this, review what you want things to look like with your staff. Then practice these sticky situations with your students! Role play and let your supporting adults help guide your students. This helps build team buy-in for the change that needs to happen and gets everyone on the same page.

3. Planning

Planning can make or break your day. If you under-plan the extra time can allow behaviors to sneak in. If you plan things that are too difficult or too easy, students can either become frustrated or whiz through the work you’ve planned. I always try to have some extra tried-and-true activites on hand for students to complete if we have extra time. This keeps students engaged and focused during instructional time. One of my favorite things to have on hand is Easy Matching Weekly Workbooks. These are ready to go when I need them and highly engaging. 

Reset and Restart

When I find myself in a slump and have a hard time getting out of it here are some of my tricks:

• Practice gratitute
• Work towards haveing a growth mindset
• Find joy in the day-to-day
• Maintain boundaries

• Seek support from colleges
• Focus on what is within my control
• Practice self-care
• Have fun with my students & staff

Every day is a fresh start and an oppertunity to reset. This is something I firmly believe and an oppertunity I extend to my students and staff daily. It only makes sense that I offer myself that same reset and restart. A bad day is bound to happen. A bad week, too. I remind myself that I’m allowed grace to have hard seasons in the classroom, and that it’s part of any career.