Gratitude

Thankfulness

Fall is my favorite time of year.

The theme of this week has been Gratitude. It was partially on my schedule, but it also just kept coming up throughout the week. Next week my students do not have any classes, they just need to make an appearance for their student-led conference, so any Thanksgiving related classroom plans were slated for last week. 

I focused our morning prayer on thankfulness, gratitude, and spreading joy. We watched videos and wrote reflections. On the morning of the day I had planned to have my students write thank you cards to someone who has a positive impact on their life, a student brought handmade cards expressing specific thanks to me and my partner teacher. When I told them I was considering carving out time every week to have them write thank you cards, there was resounding agreement. So now I'm soliciting thank you cards and card making supplies from the parents of my students.

My class went to Mass on Friday - we go every two weeks. The visiting priest was elderly, but very engaging for young and old alike. He gave a homily that was 100% about saying thank you. The reading was about Jesus healing 10 lepers, but only one sought him out to express gratitude afterwards. He told the students and parishioners in attendance for daily Mass that young and old alike need to say thank you more often, and will get more if they express thanks more often.

I try to express my gratitude regularly. I stopped by my principal's office one morning this week to say good morning, and asked him if he brought his joy with him. (Our theme for the year is Building a World of Joy). He said he always brings his joy, but sometimes he forgets to unpack it. That moment brought me joy  and continues to bring me joy every time I think of it. So now I need to find a time to ask him if he remembered to unpack his joy. 

But more importantly, my students bring me joy every day. In the past two weeks, I have been more aware of making an effort to tell them. I had them do their first free write of the school year this week. When I explained that the purpose of a free write to get ideas from their brains on paper without worrying about conventions of any kind, they gave a literal cheer. And then you could have heard a pin drop as they got to work, writing. I was elated, and told them so.

I even practiced self-care this week. I visited my hairdresser, who probably knows more about me than anyone else except my husband. We changed the highlights from my hair from blue to purple. I always leave my salon with my curly hair flat ironed straight. It's still nowhere near my waist, but getting so much longer. Since I've been pretending to grow my hair back to my waist since I cut it up to my ear in sixth grade, that also brings me joy.

I had a student sneak a thank you card onto my desk yesterday from her mom. This student only comes to my room for math, but there was a heartfelt message and a $50 Amazon gift card. I am not sure what I did to warrant such thanks, but such signs of appreciation keep me coming back even when the going gets tough.

I also had a student lecture her classmates about the disrespectfulness of their behavior this week - and break down crying in an attempt to defend me from their pre-week-off squirreliness. I felt bad for how upset she was, but grateful she cared enough, and proud that she was willing to speak out and let others know how she was feeling.

This week I also assigned students to make an inquirer poster. They were to draw and name a person they know in real life who exemplifies the IB indicators of an inquirer. One student chose me.

My job brings me joy. I am thankful every day I get to do what I do. It can be challenging, but I make a difference. I hope and pray my students find a career, a path in life that brings them joy. If your chosen career doesn't bring you joy, you are doing it wrong - or you need to find a new one.