During my first year of teaching, I was not the greatest teacher. Like any other first-year teacher, I was trying to survive. However, by having drastic teaching methods, such as teaching kindergarteners to high school seniors on the same day twice a week, I was drained. Looking back, I didn’t have a very positive attitude in teaching my students. Instead I was always exhausted and that affected my relationship with some of my students.
Then, my second year of teaching came, and this time, I got a co-teacher who has been a lifesaver. She had nine years of experience in my field and was naturally a very positive person. She comes to the school on time, is always excited to engage our students, and is very friendly to the other teachers and staff.
In response to her positivity, the students she was in charge of opened up to her more than I could and were more energized to participate in school.
After making this observation, I put in my own spin on being positive. This change in attitude didn’t just make me feel better, it transformed my entire classroom’s atmosphere. From increased student engagement to improved relationships, a positive attitude in teaching can truly change the teaching experience.
In this blog post, we’ll explore how positivity affects a classroom and discuss some effective teaching strategies that would help make learning a more positive experience.
How It Impacts the Teacher
The most important thing is that you start to feel better. There are steps to becoming a more positive person. If you want tips to help you, click on this post. Once you adopt a positive attitude, you can better foster a positive attitude in teaching.
With a positive outlook, you’re more open to tackling new challenges. These challenges might still be annoying and cause dread, but this change in attitude helps you face them rather than procrastinating.
When you are to the point in being able to maintain a positive attitude in teaching, you’ll appreciate the little things happening in your class. For example, my co-teacher taught a high school student she had previously taught in middle and elementary school.
When I first taught this high school student last year, he was dreary, performed poorly, and had many absences. Because of this, I couldn’t bond with him.
Four months after my co-teacher started working with him, he became more cheerful, started taking care of himself, and attended school more regularly. His academic performance improved—not to honor roll level, but he was no longer failing every class.
She explained that he felt negative about school because of his constant failures and untreated dyslexia. She encouraged him and treated slip-ups as positive learning opportunities.
Eventually, he started attending all her classes and paying more attention in other classes. With his permission, she gave him a hug and told him how proud she was. This motivated him to take better care of himself.
How It Impacts The Students
From the story that I shared, it’s clear that the student was more motivated to do his work. But there’s more than just motivation that happens when you teach with a positive attitude. When you have a positive attitude in teaching your students, your students will become more resilient, gain self-esteem, and be open to developing a growth mindset.
Having a positive attitude in your teaching creates a supportive and encouraging environment. This helps students bounce back from setbacks more easily because they see mistakes as chances to learn, not as failures. Over time, this ability to recover from setbacks becomes a key part of who they are.
A positive teaching approach also boosts students’ self-esteem. When students see that their efforts are recognized and appreciated, they start to believe in themselves. As their self-esteem grows, they become more willing to try new things and take on new challenges.
Teaching with a positive attitude helps students develop a growth mindset. They start to understand that they can improve their abilities through hard work and dedication. This makes them more open to learning and getting better because they see their intelligence and talents as things they can develop.
With enough time and positive reinforcement, your students will be more excited to come to class and feel more comfortable with you. They will look forward to the supportive and encouraging environment you create. This comfort and trust will make them more engaged and willing to participate in class activities, making their learning experience even better.
Challenges In Maintaining a Positive Attitude
Let’s be honest, everyone has bad days. If you’re not naturally a positive person, maintaining a positive while teaching can be tough.
For example, difficult students can test your patience and not having support from colleagues, administration, and parents can make you feel isolated and overwhelmed.
If you feel so negative that you can’t focus on teaching and feel a deep sense of dread, you might be experiencing burnout. Teaching is a demanding job that can be both physically and emotionally exhausting. Long hours, heavy workloads, and pressure to meet various demands can leave you feeling drained and less willing to return back to the classroom.
If this sounds like you and you want to keep teaching, it’s important to seek help. Talk to experienced teachers for support, join local therapy groups, or use online resources like BetterHelp.
Even with these challenges, it’s important to find ways to overcome them. Remember, practicing self-care is the most important thing you can do for yourself. This must come first, before trying to help others.
Once you’re to the point that you are doing well in self-care you have room to seek help in maintaining a positive attitude in teaching. Staying positive not only benefits you but also creates a better learning environment for your students.
Strategies
The following are some strategies you could implement in your classroom to make it more of a positive learning environment and experience.
Create an Order and Routine
Students do better with order and routine because it helps them know what to expect and reduces their anxiety about the unknown. Your classroom doesn’t need to have strict rules, but having daily routines helps build good habits and discipline.
Even if you prefer a more relaxed approach, like I do, remember that without structure, it can be harder to transition to the next subject.
Before you start teaching, make a list of rules that you can enforce and that follow your school’s guidelines. You decide what behavior is acceptable in your classroom. By setting the rules beforehand, you make your expectations clear to your students.
Once you have your rules, think about what could happen if a student breaks them. What kind of warning would you give? What would be the consequence? How many times can they break the same rule before facing the maximum consequence?
After answering these questions, think about the routines you want to establish for your students.
Become More Mindful and Practice Gratitude
When teachers practice mindfulness, they notice their own feelings and the classroom environment better. This helps them respond thoughtfully to problems.
Being grateful also helps teachers focus on the good things about teaching and their students’ progress. Encouraging students to be grateful makes the classroom more supportive and positive.
For example, I have a friend who teaches elementary school and always has a positive attitude in teaching her gifted students. Often, she would gain her students’ attention by thanking them when they behaved well. She would say stuff like, “Thank you, _, for waiting quietly.”
I teach at different schools and noticed how this worked with young kids. I wondered if it would work with older students too.
One day, I had to place one of my new students in a rowdy middle school music class.
How rowdy? A student took off his uniform in the middle of class and was in his shorts and an undershirt!
My new student was scared so I tried my friend’s method.
I played a game: “If you can hear me, do ____.” Most students joined in.
Then I thanked the students who were paying attention. I introduced the new student, thanked the class for welcoming her, and left her with the music teacher.
It worked, and I called that a success!
Share a Story Moment Together
One of the best ways to make our classroom a strong, happy place is by sharing stories or making up stories together. Stories help us feel closer to each other, see things from different points of view, and feel like we belong together.
You don’t have to share really personal stories about your past. It can just be a fun way to learn about each other. This is especially good when you’ve just started with new students or when there’s some free time.
For example, when I first started interning and taught my first set of students, it was in the middle of the school year. The students felt a bit unsure about being around me and the other intern, but were happy to have us help them.
At the time, our serious mentor didn’t know everything about me or the other intern. For a while, the other intern, our mentor, and I were just focused in helping the students get ready for an important English test.
Eventually, one student asked if I knew Spanish. Our mentor didn’t know at that time and told the student that she should ask me. I have to admit, I felt a bit surprised.
One day, when the students got tired of studying for the test, my fellow intern and I played a game with them called 23 Questions. These were simple questions like “what do you miss most about your home country?” or “how many languages do you speak?”
This game helped us all get to know each other better. It also made the students feel more comfortable with us, which is important because they might not feel the same way with their regular teachers and classmates.
Create Projects that Students Can Be Excited About
Let’s be honest, not all kids like school or think it’s the best way to get a good job or go to a good university. Some kids come to school to hang out with friends. Others just see it as a place to be until they’re old enough to work. Sadly, this happens a lot with my students.
We can’t make students change their minds about school, but we can help them see the good side of it. One way to do this is by making learning fun.
The best way to get students interested in your subject is by showing how it connects to the real world. Sometimes, students don’t see why lessons matter until you give them a real-life example.
Another great idea is to create cool projects. I’ve seen math teachers turn equations into art projects and anatomy teachers create scavenger hunts where students have to identify specific bones.
No matter what you teach, if you make fun and exciting projects for your students, they’ll enjoy learning more, and you’ll have a more positive attitude about teaching.
Be Forgiving
Remember, students will be students. This means they might do things that aren’t okay sometimes.
Don’t take it personally.
Students might try to cheat or act so silly that they can’t focus on their work.
If you’re teaching kids in K-12, remember that they’re just being kids. Most of the time, they’re not trying to make you mad. Their brains are still growing and not all kids will like you.
Some are just testing out to see where the boundary lines are.
If you feel upset because a student didn’t do their homework, fell asleep in class, or talked too loudly, take a moment to calm down.
Don’t take it personally. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t deal with the problem.
Just remember that if you take it personally, it will be harder to handle it calmly and effectively.
Conclusion
Teaching is an adventure that has a different feel as each year comes on.
My first year was really hard to maintain a positive attitude in teaching. But with the help of my co-teacher and a change in attitude, I saw how being positive can make a difference in the classroom. By creating a fun and friendly learning space, I was able to get to know my students better and make learning more fun for them.
Being positive in teaching isn’t just about making students happy, it’s about being patient with your students and yourself to the point that you can try to see the good in every situation.
