Being positive about being negative

Luck and happiness all laid out in a row.

Last summer, one of my closest friends (and a reader of this blog) told me I can sound really negative and jaded sometimes. I told her that she can too. We had a little spat, and then made up, and each have tried to be more positive since.

Whenever I read education blogs, it's easy to stumble upon some really negative ones. No need to point fingers here, since I've been there too. But it really makes me not want to read education blogs - which is kind of sad because these teachers have a lot of good stuff to share underneath all the whining and complaining and negativity.

At the same time, it's necessary to be real as well. This job is tough - and only a truly oblivious person would think otherwise. Frankly, I don't know anyone personally who looks down on the job of teaching. And the pundits who pop up on the fake news circuit every so often are loud, and seemingly in the minority. They can seem more like the majority however, just because they are loud.

Whoa, doesn't that sound a lot like some of the classes I have? The loudest ones are the ones who generally don't rely on themselves to work hard and be nice. There's a lot of blame, and a lot of anger.

I have to remember that some of those people are PAID to be loud and obnoxious. Their very job is to stir up some crazy to get attention, or so they can put something entertaining on the tube. Even the fake news people are rather loud and obnoxious sometimes.

And all this negativity? All the "I can'ts" and "That's stupids" and "We get paid so little and yet do so muches": it won't get me down. There's a way to make things ok. It's not going to be easy. It's not going to be quick. It's not going to be smooth. The plan will change, the results will vary.

But things will be ok.