When Educators believe in each other

Have you seen the TED talk by the amazing Ms. Rita Pierson.  It is powerful.  She puts into words every single reason that most of us became teachers in the first place. This quote from her talk hits me to the core every single time that I read it;

I fully believe that every child needs a person in their corner.  A person who tells them they're worth it, they can be great, and do amazing things.  A self-fulfilling prophecy can be a powerful thing, when you tell someone that they are incredible enough times, they start to believe you. I will give that to any child in a heartbeat.  

The last few months my focus has shifted a little. I've always loved working with teachers, and now I get to do it all the time. I see the same things when I'm working with an educator, when they know that I support them, and believe in them, when I tell them that they are doing wonderful things in their classrooms, they believe it.  As teachers we have so much pressure, we need to live up to parents' expectations and make sure that we are meeting all of the required standards and completing all kinds of assessments to prove that we are being effective.  We could use a little support, so why can't it come from each other?

Lets take care of each other.  Instead of competing with each other to have the cutest bulletin boards or the highest test scores, lets be each others' champions.  Take a minute out of your day to recognize the awesome things that your fellow teachers are doing.  Build each other up and your entire school will benefit.  

This is my challenge to all teachers, lets show each other a little extra love this year!