Affirmations

By now you probably have noticed that I am a big time believer in positive mantras.  Not only do I use mantras to get me through almost all of my runs, whether they're keeping me from quitting or pushing me to a personal best, I use them in my life too.  I swear, the mantra "Trust the Process" got me through my entire sophomore year of college.  So, you can imagine my elation when I attended a 5 day Quantum Learning training earlier this summer and saw positive affirmation posters all over the walls of the gym we were meeting in.  AMAZING!  If you are unfamiliar with Quantum (I was until this summer), I don't even think I can scrape the surface of describing it except to say that this training was unbelievable--in every moment, I thought to myself, "This is the kind of teacher I want to be."  Quantum is basically a teaching style (not a program!) that is designed to help kids LEARN in the ways that work for them and teachers teach their best while enjoying teaching.  (<--That's totally my interpretation of the experience, not their official motto or anything.)  It's energetic, exciting, and every piece of it is backed by research on how the brain works, so you know every tip and strategy you're given is really based on kids' brains and real learning.

ANYWAYS (that was a long tangent...), one small piece of Quantum is the affirmation posters that were all over the room.  Quantum research says that even when kids are just looking around the room, their brains are constantly taking in and processing information on the subconscious level.  They suggest putting posters with positive, first-person affirmations on your walls. From the Quantum website: "These supportive and inspiring posters can set the tone for a classroom and help create an environment of trust and safety – the kind of place where students learn best. In a students’ study areas they’re a good reminder of the things they need to remember about themselves."   So, even though I am not an artist and loathe my handwriting, I decided to tackle making some affirmation posters of my own yesterday.

Teacher Mom is very artsy (she used to do professional calligraphy and everything!), so you better believe I brought construction paper and markers over to the parents' house last night and enlisted her help...

Thanks, Teacher Mom!

(Guess which signs Teacher Mom made?...)

It's such a tiny little thing and these posters won't in themselves make a difference, but I love this concept.  I know that for me, if I were struggling on a test or an assignment, seeing a poster that says, "Everything I do deserves my best effort," just might help a little bit.  No, they won't change the world.  But will those random cutesy posters we buy at the teacher store change the world?  This year, my walls will still have anchor charts and math definition reminders on them, but you better believe that every free space is going to have an affirmation poster. :-)

Channel your inner 10-year-old...What affirmation would motivate and encourage YOU??