TL;DR:

• Accept appreciation from others no matter the time of year.
• Do what is best for you.
• Recognize your own value and remind yourself that YOU MATTER.

This blog post will focus on accepting Random Acts of Kindness (RAKS). Read more about RAKS you can encourage your students to perform in my blog post from February: Random Acts of Kindness Day – Teach Better. 

A Surprise Free Lunch

While picking up lunch today, a stranger offered to pay for my lunch. I believe he’d thought his son had taken too long to order, which wasn’t the issue. This stranger simply wanted to pay for my lunch. Maybe it was the staff ID badge I wore. Maybe it was just for a RAK he wanted to perform. Whatever the cause, I felt like I wasn’t worthy! Yes, we’d celebrated Teacher Appreciation week the week prior. And the staff were showered with breakfast, ice cream sandwiches, and framed Wordles with quotes from students, but I still feel like it’s not necessary for someone OUTSIDE the school building to recognize an educator’s effort.

Whatever the case may be in your role, know that you are appreciated, no matter the time of year. Click To Tweet

A Humble Profession

Educators are so used to giving and providing services that we rarely expect to get anything in return, especially if it’s outside of Teacher Appreciation Week. Because of chronically feeling undervalued as a profession, it’s surprising to us when a stranger outside the school building recognizes us for our dedication.

Tips for Seeking Value in Yourself

If you’re an educator who just ended the school year (or will soon end) feeling undervalued, divethru.com has tips for employees in any sector to seek value in themselves. Those tips include:

• Recognizing your value with personal affirmations. I haven’t used such affirmations on the job, but I have used them while running a marathon in 2018. Whenever you need to boost your self-esteem, consider sending yourself reminders that you are amazing at your job.
• Know that you’re allowed to say no. It can be difficult to turn down a colleague who needs to leave early for their child’s appointment and needs class coverage for the last 30 minutes of the day. If saying yes is going to make you resentful in the next few days following the favor for your colleague, reconsider asking them to ask if they can ask someone else.
• Look for underlying signs of appreciation. These could include your principal asking you to move up to grade-level or department chair, district shout-outs for your students’ successes, or your colleague next door bringing you a latte, just because.
•  Lean on your support team. This may be your next-door colleague, grade-level team or department, or whoever at home is part of your support team.

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Remind Yourself—YOU Matter

Whatever the case may be in your role, know that you are appreciated, no matter the time of year. It’s always great to get an unexpected shout-out or a gift out of the blue, but sometimes we have to remind ourselves that we matter if no one else does.

Reference: Feeling Unappreciated At Work? 10 Ways To Cope When Undervalued (divethru.com)

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About Dana Goodier

Dr. Dana Goodier has 20 years of experience in education. She has taught World Languages and English and worked as a middle school administrator. She completed her doctorate degree (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership early 2020. For her dissertation, she researched reasons parents were opting their students out of high-stakes testing at middle schools and how that affected the district accreditation rating. She often speaks at conferences, providing educators with techniques to minimize off-task behavior and to increase time on task. She is the host of the “Out of the Trenches” podcast, which features educators who share their stories of resiliency. Follow her on Twitter @danagoodier and visit her website at: www.danagoodier.com