My thoughts

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Home : 2002 : November : 6

My thoughts
By Patricia

Why can't we hear the previous post? Is it because Heather typed it? Come on now let's not be petty and do this to someone we might not agree with! As far as I could read the post was just a good old VENT as it should
be. Of course I would have left out a word but that is me and we shouldn't judge the poster. Yikes! I'm defending another post! Hard habit to break but I have a bad feeling that this new trend might become a big problem. Heather I heard you and understand your frustration. Here goes with some advice. I was listening to Joyce Meyer and she was tasking about the following and I hope

it talks to you the way it did to me. Joyce said that according to Hebrew 4:12, "An attitude is a way of life formed by negative or positive decisions made in the midst of circumstancecs we are experiencing or have experienced." We are the ones in charge of how we respond to life. We can either respond to the way other teachers treat us in a positive way and not let it destroy our joy or we can let each and every remark and action another takes around us destroy us because we let it bother us. We are the ones in control of how we react. No one else makes us respond in a positive or negative way. When I was subbing a teacher told me I had a bad attitude and of course I was furious! How dare she?! Well looking back she was right. My response to having to do something I hated, subbing, was negative and it showed and it robbed the joy I should have been experiencing each day I worked with children. I resented having to sub. I resented the teachers that I thought had it easy because they had jobs. I resented the really old teachers because if they would just wake up and realize they were way past time to retire then I would have my own classroom. I resented the young teachers that never subbed a day, lived at home still, and got their jobs right out of school. I could go on but I think you get the picture. I am the one who chose to respond to my situation with anger and resentment and the only one that hurt was me. And principals are observant people and who knows, maybe they noticed my "attitude" and that is what kept me from getting a classroom sooner. Sometimes when we are hurt we lash out. I know I did. I lashed out at myself, those around me, God. Now I look back and see that God put me in the place He wanted me to be for reasons unknown to me. Probably for an attitude adjustment. Who knows. I hope to see the teachers on this site take a more positive attitude toward the posts and be there with what we have learned in the hopes of helping another. Heather, you need to look at what bothers you the most at work and find creative ways to pick the negative experience apart and find something good from it. You need to get out of the habit of getting angry, because it really can become a habilt, and just brush it off as another teacher having a really bad day and not realizing they had lashed out at you. Maybe with a smile and perhaps say,"I'm sorry what did you say?" And proceed to say something clever or funny to help get that person out of a bad mood. Words are forever and once we speak them we can never take them back so we need to be more careful with what comes out of our mouths! On this site I will not respond to an attack with an attack but will share my life experiences instead. And in resonse to your last sentence, well we have to make sure that the way we treat students will help make up for how some other teachers might act around them. Remember, only we can choose our attitudes. We can't choose for someone else and trust me when I say the situation can only get worse if we try! Actually, I would love to hear how other teachers on this site respond to statements made by someone or actions that are not so nice. There have to be all kinds of diplomatic ways of handling some of what Heather is experiencing. Ways that could help turn her situation around? I could use some too because they would be useful in the classroom when dealing with students! Better get moving! Busy day!