The Joy of Work

     One thing I keep trying to emphasize during the course of this school year, both for my faculty and for myself, is the need for enjoying our daily work. We spend between 8-12 hours at our schools, and we must fill those hours with laughter and joy. Students must see the joy in our lives as we are often the only successful role models many of them will see. It is critical that we make learning fun and build opportunities into our schedules for celebrating the fun part of life. With the requirements of our state standards and other curricular mandates, teachers feel that there are always so many things to do and so little time to do them. As a whole, educators feel more and more pressure to get things done. However, we can not forget the medicine for our souls that fights stress. Whether we experience corporate stress or personal stress, stress is unhealthy and should be released. Let go of the stress and look for innovative ways to plug in some F-U-N.
     Our school media specialist is very talented, and she often injects fun into learning. She has hosted family reading nights for our campus and has the entire crowd answering puzzles about Harry Potter and Hogwarts. For instance, to increase the motivation to read, she has built a year long motivational reading program around exciting themes. This year, she chose the superhero theme to get students reading interests stimulated.  SHE ABSOLUTELY MAKES READING FUN. Every Friday, on our morning announcements, I assist in energizing the students to join in the fun. The excitement is contagious, and most of our faculty will wear superhero t-shirts on Fridays. Here is a picture of some of our wacky antics on the morning announcements.

This is from left to right:

Jeremy Centeno, Bay District School's Staff Training Specialist as Wolverine

Ema Rinehart, Student Anchor for the morning announcements just being cute

Yours truly, Principal Carol Rine, showing off her Spidey Sense

Talking through the full face Spider Man mask is not much fun, but if I get the students, teachers, and staff to laugh, then I have accomplished much! 

I believe having a sense of humor is critical in the art of enjoying our work. It often helps us to interpret events that occur in our daily lives. The way we perceive the events we encounter determines whether our perceptions will greet these events as a challenge, a threat, or as opportunities for growth-- leading us to ultimate satisfaction and joy. Humor provides us with necessary and different perspectives on issues. If we can bring levity to our situation, it no longer appears negative. If you encounter a tense situation, that is where you need to laugh the most. I wish you -- the joy of work.