When Things Go Sour, Smile.

There's something that I've noticed. And I'm not sure what starts it. But there's something that happens to teachers. Eventually, they struggle with becoming bitter.

I've seen different educators struggle with this, during my observational years in my undergrad, as well as my experience as a student. You knew which teachers were just unhappy with their jobs, partially because of the frown they constantly wore on their faces, and also because of their reputation as "screamers." You know the type, they're the teachers who are constantly reaming out one of the students in their classrooms for such-and-such, and much like a tea kettle, they start out with a low rumble and escalate into a ear-piercing scream. And yet whenever I look into those classrooms, it's usually not the kid who is at the root of the cause, but rather something bigger.

Now, if you imagined the old crotchety type to be the only ones screeching at the kids and struggling with bitterness, you might be mistaken. I've seen enough of us younger teachers struggle with the exact same thing. Yes, kids will be kids, and they will make stupid mistakes, and they probably need someone in their lives telling them that their behavior doesn't always cut it, but when that seems to be the only thing you have time to deal with, and math and language arts lessons don't goes as plan due to some bad choice makers, it's easy to become discouraged and disheartened. When you have this, coupled with little support from fellow teachers and administrators, I understand how tempting it is to let your heart go sour.

So how do you prevent this from happening? Or how do you deal with it if it has already begun? I don't have any clear answers yet, but I know it starts with examining your own heart, and getting to the root of the root of the problems. It may be stemming from school, or it may be from something at home. In either case, I know that wrestling to find out the cause is important. From there, it becomes a choice. A choice to let these things fester and burrow a bitter hole in your heart, or a choice to accept what is, change what can be changed, and move on with a smile. Because in the end, it doesn't matter what so and so said or thought, it doesn't matter if the kid drove you bananas, what matters is the way in which you carried yourself through that time. What matters is if you are happy with who you allowed yourself to become in the end.