Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Low Morale Fighting Force



It seems like we all seem to know teachers in out building that is dealing with low morale. Well, it's time to stop talking about it and make a move. Join the Low Morale fighting Force. We might even get T-Shirts! If we are not going to help these teachers, who is going to? I challenge all of you to find that teacher and tell them how great they are and offer your ear for a few minutes and let them know they are not alone. We need to stick together and help each other so we can help the students. Positive attitudes are just as contagious as bad ones. Spread the good vibes and they will spread to others.

If this is a larger school issue, think about planning a trip to the local drinking establishment after school on Friday and raise a glass to your hardworking staff. We have all heard about the student who only receives a smile from a teacher all day and the impact it had on them. Think about the teachers that work all of the time and never get told they are doing a good job. If yo have to start with one teacher at a time, start there. All it takes is one pebble to start the ripple in the pond. Are you going to be that pebble?

If you are on board with this, leave a comment sharing how you helped fight low morale in your school.

Let the power of our PLN fight low morale around the world!

10 comments:

  1. We're all in this together. Teacher, admin, support staff. Just noticing & appreciating one another goes a long way. Thanks, Nicholas, for posting this after edchat. Great reminder to us all. ~M.E.

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  2. Totally on board with this - thanks for the nudge. So appreciate your enthusiasm.
    Leslie

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  3. This very morning I walked around my school before classes started and stopped in to say hi to a few teachers I hadn't talked to in a while. Different department and different parts of the building. I said hi, asked them how things were going and just comlimented on anything that came up. It was fun to see and hear what others are doing. I hope that made them feel better. I know I felt a little better. What are you doing to fight low morale in your building?

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  4. Thank you for spearheading this effort. Last night's edchat was, definitely, inspiring. It's so easy to blame others for low morale (and, quite frequently, the blame is well-deserved), but that doesn't mean we can't do things to impact morale, ourselves. I just sent a short e-mail to one of my colleagues to let him know that I notice, respect, and appreciate all he does to learn and utilize technology in his classroom, for the benefit of his "kids".
    I plan to try to do this or F2F, regularly.
    Thanks, again, for the SHOVE!! I needed it.

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  5. Hi Nick,
    Thanks for this post. Some years ago worked in a school where the Director gave out Happygrams - they were just a pink piece of paper with a smiley face on them. She walked around the school and everytime she saw something great going on she wrote one of these out and dropped it in our mailboxes. How we loved getting those Happygrams. It showed that she noticed and it showed that she cared. One of the teachers at our school has just started a Wine Club (as opposed to a whine club) which is a great idea for building up morale once a month - lots of wine and no whining allowed!!

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  6. Totally behind this idea!!!! A little kindness, encouragement, or notice goes a long way towards boosting morale in others. I really like the idea of Happygrams. Trying to think of a way to incorporate this idea into my schools I work with. Thanks for bringing this to the forefront of my thinking!

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  7. I am so behind this idea. I was so inspired by our edchat the other night that I dedicated a section of our staff meeting to recognizing great things I had seen this week. I called them "Starfish" awards (The starfish story is kind of our motto this year). I recognized four people, and then asked staff to share others....It really helped raise morale. I hold two staff meetings - one in the morning, and one in the afternoon. Did it in both - heard about many other great things!

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  8. You know Nick, you are so right (as you always are anyway.) Everyone knows how it feels to be a bit low or tired, but if someone who bothers to see what you are doing makes a positive comment about what you are doing, the feeling is fantastic. So share that feelings with others who deserve it and those who are struggling bravely. An old Principal of mine used to say that most people don't set out to do a bad job...

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  9. I am so excited to see all the great ways educators are changing the Morale of their school. It starts with little steps and can spread across the entire building as each person wants to spread the good feelings around. I've very proud to be in the same profession as all of you. Keep up the great work and keep fighting LM!

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  10. I'm with you, it has to start somewhere, why not with us? I started a standing happy hour decompress last year. It has made a world of difference for those who will participate. I am considering holding a weekly Ted Talk Tuesday lunch in my lab so that we can get a little beginning of the week inspiration together.

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Please post your thoughts here. Thanks!