Teaching isn’t always going to be sunshine and rainbows. In fact, it’s easy to get caught up in what I call the negative thought pattern swirl. Things can be straight up hard and it can cause you to feel the overwhelm big time.
In this blog post (and podcast episode 199), I share 4 ways you can reframe the negative thoughts you might have about teaching.
1. Remember Your Why
The first way to reframe negative thoughts about teaching is to remember your why and go over that again and again. It’s so easy to forget why you became a music teacher on the days that suck. Before you even became a music teacher, in whatever way that looks like for you, remember how excited you were, unsure, not knowing what to expect, and looking forward to meeting your students. Maybe it didn’t pan out the way you hoped it would or it’s harder than you thought it would be and you lost your joy.
Go back to the basics, which is remembering your why. It might be buried super deep under there somewhere and you may not even remember why you’re teaching music anymore. But take the time to reflect about it, write it on a sticky note somewhere, post it on your wall if you need to, and remind yourself why you’re in this career when you could be doing anything else.
2. Know that the Hard Days will Come
Know that the hard days (and years) will come, there will be hard to reach students, and there will be times lessons bomb. But one bad moment can cause our thought patterns to spiral and cause us to believe things that aren’t true. For me, if negative thoughts seep in, I have to remind myself this is one moment in time and I pray about it and let it go. Is it always that easy? Of course not!
There might be new strategies you need to try with your students when it comes to teaching lessons or classroom management. You might need to sit down and journal your thoughts about what’s causing you stress. If you can’t pinpoint exactly what that is, it’s also ok to talk to a friend, spouse, or even therapist about it. It’s easy to feel beat down and defeated, but one bad moment, day, several days, weeks, month, or entire school year doesn’t make you a bad teacher. There are things out of your control (hello Pandemic) and then there are things you can control like your attitude, mindset, emotions, feelings, etc.
3. Be Part of the Solution
If something hasn’t worked in your classroom this year, take the time to process ways it can be improved. Instead of complaining about this or that student, talk to their teacher, the resource teacher if needed, or even that student about what they need. If there’s a ton of talking during the lessons you’re teaching, maybe you need to restructure what’s happening during class time. Are you spending too long or not enough time during the beginning, middle, or end of the class time? When are you losing your students interest? What are ways they can stay more engaged next school year? If your upper elementary students don’t love to sing, what are ways you can bring more singing in or should you shift your focus away from having them sing as much?
With anything that’s a problem in your eyes, there is always a solution. It isn’t always an overnight fix of course, but it’s all in trying and retrying and retrying. One day, something will stick. It took me forever to get my first group of 5th graders to buy into music class. What finally worked was implementing fun Friday. I saw my students every other day because we didn’t have art, so I could do this. What we would do is the last 15-20 minutes of class on a Friday, students could do a mini talent show, listen to music of their choice, or choose what activities in the music room they wanted to do. It wasn’t an immediate fix and took time to turn the ship around, but once it worked, it worked great.
4. Identify What’s Bringing you Down Mentally
Identify what’s bringing you down mentally. If it’s listening to teachers gripe in the teachers lounge about everything, stop eating in there. If you’re busy comparing yourself to the way other elementary music teachers are doing things, then stop. If you feel like your mornings are rushed or you’re not getting enough time to unwind at the end of the day, identify steps to help you get things ready the night before or to not stay at school as long.
Maybe you’re having a hard time juggling work and home life and it’s a lot to handle. I can identify with this in a big way friend. What works for me is realizing that life isn’t ever going to be perfect. It ebbs and flows. You will have moments you can fully devote to your family and friends and children and other times you have to get work done. It’s about communication, giving yourself tons of grace, and letting go of unrealistic expectations you may have put on yourself.
Have you worked on reframing your negative thoughts? Tell me about it in the comments below or share your thoughts on social media as you share this post. I’d love for you to share this post or any of the resources on my website with a friend or colleague who you know NEEDS to see it too.
P.S. Are you feeling frustrated or stuck as an elementary music teacher? Check out these free resources to help you teach elementary music with confidence!
Also…I wrote a book called “Make A Note: What You Really Need To Know About Teaching Elementary Music” to help music teachers move forward in your teaching career. You can get your copy here.
