Good bye 2014! Many people write reflections on the year that is ending.  Well, I didn’t like 2014 too much. The last few months have been pretty nice with me having the most incredible job ever, but until then, it was a rough year. 2014 was a year where failure and struggle was part of my job and life every day. So I’m ready for a change. I really don’t want to relive most of that year. Another thing I am not going to do is make a New Year’s Resolution. No need to set myself up for failure or focus on just one cheesy goal.

So why on earth am I writing this end of the year post? Few weeks ago I read this article called “What Happened When We Created Daily Lists of Our Successes.” The article has really stuck with me, and if you knew how many articles I read a day, that is a big deal. In the article they stated that after a while they slept better (could you imagine less insomnia!), finishing goals and to do list became easier and less overwhelming, and they started to appreciate others more as well as things that were important to them. So what would happen if we spent a moment every day and looked for one success for that day? What if our students did this? Can you imagine how powerful this would be. Think about that student who feels like they could never do anything right (I taught middle school, that was like 99% of my students). What if their “bellwork” or “exit ticket” at least once a week was to write down one success. Even if that success is getting to school on time or not punching the bully who made fun of their shoes. Over time they would start seeing the good in their lives.

Imagine if teachers did that as well. Last school year I felt like a failure every day. Every single day I received an email or a comment about what I could have done better (parents can forget we are human and don’t understand that writing a curriculum while teaching it isn’t easy). I really focused on those failures. But the last week of school I was finishing my Educate Alabama and I was putting in all my evidences and I had 7 pages of successes that matched my goals for the year. I keep wondering what it would have done for my sanity if I written down my successes as they happened. I think as teachers we get so caught up with standards and tests and grades that we forget those little successes. We don’t become teachers to grade papers or help kids get A’s. We become teachers to make differences in children’s lives, to pass on knowledge of things we are passionate about, etc. So if we record these good things we do everyday, we won’t forget why we are here and let the negatives take over.

So I have a challenge for you. Starting January 1, 2015, post one success a day. Just one. No one uses the hashtag #365success so I’m claiming it and that is where we can post them. Take time in your classroom to have students write things they did well and are proud of. Yeah, it may take up class time that you don’t have enough of, but make it homework or realize that those 5 minutes could really encourage students to look at themselves differently. Have them use the hashtag as well.

Happy New Year and have a great 2015! I’ve missed all of you and your encouragement. I do have a goal to blog more in 2015, so hopefully I will be back! I look forward to reading what you succeed in every day!