I hate to be cheesy
But those tiny glimmers of hope,
They’re pretty magical, are they not?
They bounce off anything they meet,
Can fill a room with light, from just a little source.
They may not look like much,
But we should measure them in kilobeats
Or how they warm the heart.
I think it’s really cheesy when people talk about glimmers of hope and light at the end of the tunnel. And then I go and get a little glimmer of my own and I realise that my stone cold heart can thaw quite quickly when I’m the one experiencing it.
I’ve had a bit of a bad run of luck with bad news over the last week or two. Nothing life altering, but enough to make me feel like the world is ganging up on me a bit. And then today I got a ‘good’ in my formal observation.
I have not reached that point all that much yet, so to finally have that validation that I am starting to reach the point that I would expected to be when I’m a real teacher, that’s special.
My mentor reminded me that there could still be ‘requires improvements’ throughout my journey, especially as we move back into the classroom and have to get used to face to face teaching again.
But for now I’m going to bask in the light and warmth of my glimmer. And if you want to use an awful cliche to describe feeling good, you knock yourself out. You’ve earned the right to describe that feeling any way you want.
Much Love
Rachel xx
K.L. Hale
Good for you my friend. I remember beginning my teaching career and the observations. And the goals I had set for myself. I felt I still needed to improve year after year. But I learned not to be too hard on myself. But to give myself grace. And my true evaluation each day was the look in the students’ eyes when they learned. I’m proud of you. Keep finding the glimmers my friend.
patientandkindlove
Soooo true. And the language that they use in the reports is so negative which doesn’t help. Instead of ‘requires improvement’ they should say ‘good, but here are a few pointers to make it really good’!
K.L. Hale
I agree 💯 with the negative language used. There’s multiple ways to say, “try this strategy!”
K.L. Hale
I agree 💯! Perhaps a list of successful strategies to try and take the words “good AND requires improvement” out. Good is so vague with no specifics. You are good already. 💚 I think the more specific the feedback, the better. And absolutely using positive language. “Here are some successful strategies to utilize to boost your instruction!”
Margot Kinberg
You are doing so much growing and learning, and I’m very happy for you. Hold on to those glimmers, because they do help you through the tough days. I’m glad your mentor is helping you see that. Focus on what is good, and that will help you support yourself in those places that ‘need improvement.’
patientandkindlove
Absolutely. And I need to remember that they only tell me that bits need improving because they want me to be the best I possibly can be. That can’t be a bad thing?
clcouch123
Tiny glimmers of hope are magical. They glimmer, after all. One fun thing about working with younger children was their fondness for glitter.
patientandkindlove
I wish I was in primary school so that I could use more glitter. Glitter is very absent from my classrooms (sad face emoji)
crispina kemp
Keep those glimmers glowing. The world is set to change (fingers crossed)