Welcome to ‘Diary of a Teacher’. Here, you’ll learn what it’s really like being a teacher - but through a very delibrate lens of positivity. I approach this newsletter through my 3Gs - growth, giggles and gratitude - to rip up the online negativity around teaching and show the world how fortunate we are to be educators.
Educational strategies, life lessons, reasons to be grateful or a little laugh - there’s something here for everyone.
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“The future influences the present just as much as the past” - Friedrich Neitzsche
Very pertinent quote this time, so just take a moment to read it again.
Now, if you’re from the UK, you’ll be familiar with ‘The One Show’ - a show on the BBC that (amongst other things) features different celebrity guests every week, usually discussing their upcoming shows, music releases, events and whatever else they’ve got going on. They tend to be celebrities from an older generation; this may seem a random detail but it matters.
Having reached the twilight of their careers, these older figures of pop culture always find themsevlevs in a very good place. They’ve had commercial success, they’ve ridden the whirlwhind of showbiz and now they’re masters of their own fortunes with a marriage, kids and plenty of money and adoring fans.
And, time and again, the presenters ask questions like:
“If you could go back in time and talk to your younger self X years ago, what would you tell them?”
A question met by equally predictable answers:
“Just relax and try not to worry too much, you’re doing fine.”
“Good things are coming your way.”
“Keep working hard.”
This is sound advice for other younger people watching, but, for the individual saying it, it’s never going to have much of an impact; the present can’t influence the past. Aside from the feel-good factor of reminding yourself that you’ve ‘made it’, I don’t think there’s anything to gain from anyone answering that question. But, as told by Neitzsche:
“The future influences the present just as much as the past.”
So I think there’s a better way to consider this question.
My partner and I are at a bit of a crossroads with our lives at the moment. She has completed her degree in Wildlife Conservation and is hunting for a local job in that field, something that’s proving challenging. The idea of moving further afield is appealing but, for reasons that I shan’t go into, we’re rooted to the spot for the time-being.
I, too, am trying to establish a copywriting business alongside my teaching role, something that’s starting to get somewhere after a few months of slowly laying the groundwork.
Our circumstances aren’t perfect yet, meaning it’s so, so easy to think that things aren’t working out. When this feeling takes over, frastic change or total surrender seems the only natural thing to do. Seems drastic but, honestly, that’s what it sometimes feels like and I’ll bet anyone reading this who’s been in a pinch can say the same.
So we’ve developed a new way to motivate ourselves. Rather than ask, “What would you tell your younger self…”
Try this:
“What would future-you tell you today?”
Sure, it’ll be hypothetical advice from a non-existent entity, sure - but it’s not hard to predict what someone in such a position would tell you.
And what are we imagning ourselves being told?
“Just relax and try not to worry too much, you’re doing fine.”
“Good things are coming your way.”
“Keep working hard.”
You won’t believe the boost this gives us.
If you’re stuck in your own doldrums, try it. What would future you tell you now? And will you listen?
Positivity Journal
If you feel like trying to view the world my way, subscribing to this blog is a fine way to do tit - but you could gain even more from my teaching positivity journal.
Reflecting on my 3Gs - growth, giggles and gratitude - every week has transformed my teaching outlook and, now, my journal can help you do the same.
Order it here to begin finding a happier place in the teaching world:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Diary-Teacher-Positivity-Journal-Gratitude/dp/B0CTJ189Q6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=IUHQ1VU05K4K&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Ir-WT1Uy-HOA_34Os6-jrc3GYc9GAjYTdkQJSryNJoeqTTOWPlCSrEVjV5knKpWW2PCQFGV-ZPApvPQoR_IzzAYGSGDJWMdxGEzgvOZOK3oKQjsYhETUY9Z687_90zSXtYN40FytMmSFwpb5pZYsyCSB9o6IF-pp7Vww3yQ3ncjey11vn2Z7YYMaSstnBbLxY9NZ8e0rcfp7mOU6LLHLVCEOT0--d8yKf-7fHBEWj1s.BV06iCSnzpJsgqq_9IbL7D8j8rTEvY4uCPYndOKf0CE&dib_tag=se&keywords=positive+teacher+journal&qid=1709474645&s=books&sprefix=positive+teacher+journa%2Cstripbooks%2C91&sr=1-1.