{"id":449,"date":"2020-01-03T09:28:11","date_gmt":"2020-01-03T16:28:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/educationispowerful.net\/?p=449"},"modified":"2021-07-09T18:06:54","modified_gmt":"2021-07-10T00:06:54","slug":"gratitude-journal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/educationispowerful.net\/gratitude-journal\/","title":{"rendered":"How Using a Gratitude Journal Changed My Classroom Culture {And Myself!}"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Oprah Winfrey told us all this<\/span><\/a>, years ago \u2013 \u201cGratitude can transform any situation. It alters your vibration, moving you from negative energy to positive.\u201d\u00a0 But I guess I wasn\u2019t listening all those years ago.<\/span><\/p>

This year I started a deliberate practice of gratitude within my own teaching life.\u00a0 We\u2019ve all been there \u2013 it\u2019s a rough year, it\u2019s a rough bunch of kids, my team\/department\/principal is driving me crazy (or doesn\u2019t appreciate me).<\/span><\/p>

Every day I tried to write down 3 things that made today a \u201cGood Day at Work.\u201d\u00a0 I kept them in my notes on my phone.\u00a0 Some days it took some time to come up with three things and some days I only had 2 or even 1 thing to write down.\u00a0 And then there were the days I couldn\u2019t seem to stop writing.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Today\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Gratitude can change our outlook, our energy, our positivity \u2013 and now I know it can change lives \u2013 my life to be specific.\u00a0 I ended every day by thinking about the good, not the bad.\u00a0 I remembered my student who stopped after class to tell me thank you, not the kid who fell asleep in class.\u00a0 I remembered the compliments from my colleagues.\u00a0 I focussed on what was working and going right, rather than what went wrong.\u00a0 And I went home happier and more energized and excited to come back the next day.<\/span><\/p>

I was happy \u2013 and people noticed. I\u2019ll never forget the student who told me I smiled all the time and that none of his teachers ever smile.<\/span><\/p>

By about October, I saw such a shift in my own life, that I decided to encourage my students to do this as well.\u00a0 I created posters and cards and gave them to my students.\u00a0 Each day at the start of class (or at the end) I would ask them to write down why today was a good day.\u00a0 I could not believe what happened \u2013<\/span><\/p>

Some students fought me \u2013 which I expected.\u00a0 I teach high school, so I know how some students would hate this.<\/span><\/p>

But wow!\u00a0 I had so many students who <\/span>loved <\/span><\/i>what we were doing.\u00a0 I got notes from students.\u00a0 I got emails from parents.\u00a0 I found smiling faces and students who were more open to some of the tough conversations we have in our English classrooms.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Today\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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The best day was the first time a student complained that they didn\u2019t have enough room in the journals I made for them.\u00a0 Or when they needed more time.<\/span><\/p>

The absolute most wonderful day was when students wanted to start sharing their good day moments.\u00a0 Then \u2013 my class culture changed.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t force this.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t an assignment to turn to a neighbor and share.\u00a0 It happened organically.\u00a0 Here is why I think this happened this way:<\/span><\/p>