Listening to my peers and reading many blogs online has made me ponder on the state of teacher morale and motivation. This Tuesday’s #edchat was on this particular topic and shared many tweets. As I read a few of the comments posted at Steve Anderson’s Blog, Morale…Get Some!, it confirmed what I believe is occurring in schools today. Anderson shares that teachers and administrators have to work together and build morale. There is an archive of the tweets located on Anderson’s blog and a few are shared below. You can learn more about #edchat and view archived transcripts at the #edchat workspace. What can you do to motivate and improve morale?
“Teacher morale can be contagious.” Stay positive even on days that are not going well and things are not working out the way you hoped they would. Keep smiling, it makes a difference.
” I find that the kids are the best way to boost my morale…reminds me why I teach.” Get in those classrooms and connect with the students. The things you do with students definitely puts a twinkle in your eyes!
“Supported and empowered teachers are more likely to have high morale.” This is what you are doing and we thank you everyday for the support you provide our district’s educators.
“The morale of an organization will only be as high as its leader. Low teacher morale is the result of low leadership morale.” Supportive and strong leadership is a key to an organizations morale. Interesting information concerning principal support is shared in a recent survey of 40,000 teachers on improving education.
“My morale would be boosted by recognition for hard work. When I became NBCT, only congrats I got was blurb in district newsletter.” If there was a way to provide more positive feedback with more than a blurb, it would be there. With the Academy Awards on the horizon I think about the Oscars and all the recognition that is is given to these outstanding actors. What could be earned by an educator other than a blurb?
Speaking of the film industry, we do love watching movies and are often inspired. Edutopia shared several great teacher inspirational movies in their recent e-newsletter. One favorite listed is Mr. Holland’s Opus, with Richard Dreyfuss. It is rewarding to see that there is now a Mr. Holland Opus Foundation. Take time out to watch one of these motivational movies and remember to stay on top of your world. It is contagious!
“If the teacher is unhappy, the kids are unhappy. And when kids are unhappy there isn’t any learning going on.” Steven Anderson
Five for Friday – Movies and Motivating Morale
neok12 – This site offers free educational videos, lessons, games and quizzes. Could some of these learning objects be used when creating Units in Angel with Agents.
Making Stop Motion Movies – A great resource for educators and young people who want to learn more about how to create stopmotion and claymation movies. Kevin Hodges, a sixth grade teacher created this site to inspire you.
Common Sense Media and Alice in Wonderland – There has been lots of anticipation for this movie that will certainly mesmerize the kids. Common Sense always provides useful information about age appropriate viewing and it is a Disney movie. Take the time to get out your 3D glasses for Alice in Wonderland! A few classroom ideas for using Alice in Wonderland are located at Discovery Education and G -Souto’s Blog goes into depth on using Movies in the Classroom.
Big Huge Labs – Motivational Posters – The image above was created at Big Huge Labs – Motivator. Create your own with images from your building or environment. Very easy tool to use with the capability of saving and inserting in later publications or presentations. They offer many more formats for your enjoyment.
Friday Giveaways from Edutopia – Here is an opportunity for you to win something! Go to this link every Friday for a chance to win. As educators we love to receive gifts of all shapes and sizes. Could you have a small reward offering in your building to boost morale. Let’s keep them happy!
Photo above contained in the poster was taken on a wonderful climb up Uncompahgre Peak in July of 2006. Pictured is my son taking in the view over the Uncompahgre National Forest.
Over the past four weeks, my role as lead mentor has given me the opportunity to visit 17 new instructional technology staff member at 16 schools. What a great feeling to see their excitement and passion as they begin their new roles as media specialists and instructional technology staff. What really rocked was the opportunity for all new staff to come together to collaborate with their mentors. To begin the collaborative planning session, The Voice of the Active Learner, was shared. This powerful video was a hook to open conversation and remind all of our roles in supporting educators, new and veteran, as they engage instruction in ways students want to learn in their digital world. The noise of collaborative sharing in the room was loud and only confirmed the need for more space and time for connections. How will you keep all learners passionately hooked this school year?
