Compliment Others.

So, I was just sitting here in between "Family Guy" commercials and thinking to myself (as I often have plenty of time to do) about how I often am not confident about how good of a job I am doing teaching.  It's really easy to compare myself according to other teachers' standards.  So often you hear, "Oh, he/she is so good with that student."  Or the occasional, "That student has come a long way because of Mrs. so-and-so."  It makes me wonder if staff members say positive things about me when I'm not around.  I don't have the most outgoing personality so it's hard to think positively in this regard sometimes.  There are days when I feel like I'm a rock-star teacher and there are days when I know deep down (and I'm sure many professionals can attest to this...) I'm trying to get by.  I know it all goes back to one of those age-old sayings we've ingrained in ourselves since we were kids, "Don't worry what others say about you...those people aren't your friends..."  Something to that effect.  But I'm human and female....therefore I do a lot of feeling and worrying!  Especially in a new job where my first few years I'm setting out to not only make a difference, but prove myself, I kind of have to care what people think about me.  Honestly, being in the workforce these few months has made me realize this is how our society is so oddly shaped:  to critique others.  I see it all the time in one of the main classrooms I work in.  Staff members are constantly making commentary about others, both positive and negative--especially negative.

So back to my point--I want to be highlighted as positive when it comes to the critiquing.  Again, it does rely on me to proving myself and that's up to me to do that.  But as I was sitting here waiting for "Family Guy" to come back on, I realized that as long as commentary and critiquing plays a huge role in the workforce, I want to play a part by spreading my positivity and adding my share of compliments.  After all, what you get is what you give, right?  I want to be supportive of my colleagues and students and commend them on their efforts and successes alike.  I think that showing that piece of myself to others does do some good in this often times disheartening system known as the workforce.  I didn't see it before, but that's simply what everyone is doing: they're spreading the love and accentuating the positives of the day.  I shouldn't be let down because I'm not the "star" but know that I'm doing my best and am appreciated by the fact that I am not doing my work for the glory of it all, but for the benefit and reward that my students will receive in their outcomes.