This week, we are discussing various types of negativity found in the education setting. We'll dive into the different sources of negativity and how to recognize them in your school and classroom communities. We reflect on our experiences and discuss some strategies and ways to deal with this type of negativity.

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**For detailed show notes, please visit our website at https://edugals.com/63**

Sources of negativity and tips:

• Staff relationships
  • Tensions in course teams, workrooms etc
  • How full is your cup this year?
  • Be transparent, honest, and open
  • Go slowly with change, small steps are okay
  • Find ways to build community - eg: sharing funny jokes weekly
• Admin pressures
  • Running extracurriculars, not acknowledging struggles this year with COVID protocols
  • Get better at the art of saying NO (see this tweet from Amanda Hargreaves)
  • Beware of burnout, learn to recognize the signals
  • Recognize that admin are also under pressure too from higher ups, families, teachers etc
• Government/Societal Pressure/Opinions
  • Show the value of public education via social media
  • Shine a spotlight on what is going on in your classroom (both positive and negative)
  • Hybrid is tough! Find colleagues to collaborate with and consider the Modern Classrooms Project (MCP) framework
  • Collaboration is good - take the risk, it's totally worth it
  • Feedback and sharing is where the learning happens; push through and keep going
• Students and Parents
  • Tik Tok challenges are causing a lot of stress, mistrust
  • Virtual vs face-to-face learning - how do you make your course accessible for all?
  • Instructional videos can help - best if it's personal but use other videos if you don't have the time/capacity
  • Go for done, not perfect! Mistakes are okay!
• Social Media
  • Katie's best tip: log out
  • Curate a list of educators you find value from (your people who challenge your thinking and that you learn from) and set that list as your home screen
  • It can be healthy to vent and know that you aren't alone
• Toxic positivity
  • Gratitude Journal Search on Twitter 
  • Gratitude Journal Article (Toronto Star)

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