Good morning from BURTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT - #TEAMBURTON
February 1, 2021
Praying everyone is staying healthy and well!!!
Avoiding the Positivity Trap…
2021 is a new year, yet everyone is tired. While we have only been in school for four months, it feels more like four years if emotions were measured in days. Teachers and staff have experienced every emotion from excitement to have our doors open and see our students; anxiety to transition to the many health protocols and rules; frustration with a new way of teaching; and sometimes just defeated, feeling like a first year teacher again. Then right back to happiness to be in their classrooms, doing what they love, even if it is different, just because the alternative of being at home is not even close to what we signed on for as an educator. The adjustments that have come with distance learning have been a rollercoaster of emotions and challenges.
As an administrator, we didn’t sign up for the leadership positions because we thought it would be easy. We are asking ourselves questions daily – Are we focusing on the right things with our team? Are we doing enough? It is a constant effort to think of ways to balance the high expectations we have for our students along with addressing a new learning curve for our teachers. I have always prioritized being positive and modeling a positive outlook for my staff, but I have recently found that being “positive” is not what teachers really need right now. They need more.
Authentic Conversation Is Sometimes Better Than Positivity. It's not that having a positive attitude to model for the team is not valued or recognized. And it is certainly not that the staff would prefer not to focus on the positive. Rather, it is that in this time of great challenge, when we are all pushing ourselves to our learning limits, our patience limits, and our emotional bandwidth is stretched to the max, our teachers need us to let them be real. They need a safe spot to land. And sometimes that means expressing their fears, their worries, their concerns, and not finding the silver lining in it right away. They need to know they won’t be judged and we will still be able to find a solution despite feeling like we might not know what that is.
Therefore, let’s Create Space And Time For Teachers To Connect On A Personal Level and find outlets that really show appreciation to our colleagues. We are all in this together. We are all facing the challenge of finding the positives in our days, and somehow, when we intentionally take the time to connect, the positives will come to the surface. Reflecting On Our Growth by realizing that there is still lots of work ahead of us is not always positive, but real talk. We can’t forget that teachers have so much on their plates and so much that they are already carrying. Despite all of the challenges and problems still left to conquer, we can encourage a space to solve them that is safe and better than positivity. A culture of connection.
We welcome you to visit one of the finest school districts in the state of Texas and thank you in advance for taking time to find out more about our schools, our professional staff, our exemplary students, and our excellent academic programs. Burton Schools are a perfect place to get an education that will prepare your child for a bright future.
There is a tremendous amount of community support that goes into the success of our programs in Burton ISD. We appreciate everyone who helps make a positive impact on our schools. All of us working cooperatively make Burton ISD better together. Proud to be a BURTON PANTHER!
Please check out our website at www.burtonisd.net, BTX Breaking News, Burton ISD News and Elementary Facebook sites, and Twitter to find out more details about all of the activities happening in the BURTON SCHOOLS. Come show your spirit!!!
BURTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT - #TEAMBURTON!!!
HAVE A BLESSED WEEK!!! GO PANTHERS!!!
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