Our teaching team received some good news today and I must say that it felt good. It felt especially good when I told my parents because, like any parents, they love to hear good news.
We don't always think about the impact our good work has on those beyond the boundaries of the work, but truly, when you invest in good effort, the impact reaches beyond those boundaries to your family members, community, and more.
This is a good message for students to hear--when students think about their good work as a study that doesn't just lift them up, but lifts others up too, they may invest in their study with greater energy, effort, and a broader view of how to do their work and why they're doing it.
This perspective is also important when it comes to teamwork--when we work well, we lift the team up, and when we don't give as much or do as well, we let the team down. I think that those that play sports or participate in other kinds of goal-oriented, committed teams while they are young have an advantage over those that don't have the chance to work on good teams. To work on a good team provides great learning for the living and working ahead.
As I think more about this and the many projects ahead for our grade-level team, I think I'll discuss this topic with the students. I'll talk about the good feeling they'll have when they complete science projects, perform the fifth grade play, participate in the global cardboard challenge, and share their science projects. I'll ask them about what we might do so that everyone does a good job on their own and as a grade-level team. I'll list the attributes they share and refer to that list as we do the hard work it takes to work through the challenges that naturally arise with any big or new task.
Everyone likes good news, and when we think about that and factor that into our effort, focus, and attitude, we don't just do better for ourselves, but we lift others up too.
