Encouragement

I am a Reading and Language Arts teacher. 

I love everything about this work except the non-stop testing of students. I would so love to just encourage them in their love of reading and then their writing abilities would follow. Along the way, I would love to, and could easily, teach them the fine art of reading and writing.

Reading is the most fundamental skill we learn but one of the most important. Reading is necessary to function in our world. We need to read directions, applications, medical information, etc. Reading is necessary for basic survival. Unfortunately, many students arrive at Room 106 woefully behind in this skill, through no fault of their own in many cases.

Reading is a way to learn new things, to explore new ideas, to travel to places in your mind where you would never be able to go physically. Reading feeds your imagination. Reading helps you grow as a human being to understand the world around you. Reading increases your vocabulary. Reading teaches us empathy. Reading entertains us and even relaxes us.

Reading is necessary to become a great writer. Reading sparks our thoughts and inspires ideas. Reading increases our vocabulary which makes our writing more interesting. Reading takes us to new worlds and piques our curiosity which, in turn, makes our writing more vivid.

Unfortunately, in today’s educational world, I don’t always just get to be an encourager, I often have to stop and make sure they know how to take a reading and writing test to show they have achieved significant growth. When I self-evaluate, I find I really work hard on these areas during the first semester and, focus on the encouragement of these skills in the second semester, consciously or unconsciously, I am not even sure.

As an avid reader and writer, myself, I want my students to enjoy the process. I love learning the origin of words or of books. I try to exude enthusiasm over these skills so it will overflow onto my students.

Encouragement: (noun) the act of inspiring with courage and, or hope; the act of spurring another on.

What a powerful word!

We all need to be full of encouragement. We all need to be an encourager to and for others. I have been encouraged often by former teachers, colleagues, supervisors, family, friends, strangers, and even by my students. 

An encouraging word can change the trajectory of someone’s life.

Opportunities abound in which we can encourage another human being. However, sometimes I get caught up in the day-to-day tasks of life and worry more about checking off my “to do” list instead of focusing on the human aspect.

I need to work harder on my encouragement skills.

I need to make a point to encourage someone each hour of the day.

I can speak words of encouragement in person: in the grocery, in my classroom, in a faculty meeting, in my kitchen, in my driveway, in Target.

I can write words of encouragement: on my social media accounts, in cards, in letters, in notes, in emails, in text messages, in my blog.

Reading and writing are becoming lost arts. Many times, people read for the basics (directions). Many times, people write just the necessities (grocery list).

During this second chapter (February) of this new book (2019) of my life,  I am going to speak words of encouragement to myself to be more of an encourager.

In Room 106, I will specifically remind my students of how important each of them is to our world. I will remind them of how exciting books are to read by connecting them with genres of interest. I will remind them of the importance of writing by providing a meaningful assignment.

In my personal life, I will send more hand-written notes. I will speak more positively to those around me. I will send cards to those who are celebrating, to those who are sad, to those who are lonely, to those who are sick, to those who are just struggling with life.

A hand-written note is a tangible piece of paper which can be read over and over again. I know this for a fact because I keep these in my desk at school and I keep these in my Bible. I pull them out to read when I need to embolden my spirit.

Most importantly, I will spend time in prayer for others asking God to help them feel encouraged by someone else in some way each day.

If you have read this far, I hope you know how important you are to the world. I hope you know you have a purpose for being here. I hope you are sharing your specific talents with those around you. I hope you take a moment to encourage someone else each day.

I can only imagine how strong our families would become through encouragement.

I can only imagine how strong our children would become through encouragement.

I can only imagine how wonderful our world would be if we each took the time to encourage another soul.

Whether spoken or written, our words matter!

Love, Jan 💖