Be Proactive

Well....I'm back at it.  Blogging?  Yes, but no not really.  Blogging for school?  Yes.  Yes, that is correct.  In fact, this part of this blog will not make it into my blog that is turned in.  I had to cross post for my own self.  For the part of me that needs to be on my blog.  The part of me that needs to write and just has found every excuse not to write.  The part that has said "lesson plans, keeping in touch with friends, homework, sleep, Vox, my pets, my family, my husband, supporting teachers, student council, Twitter, conference planning, our school TV station, sunshine committee, exploring Google, meetings, and so many other things (not in that specific order) need to come first".  Well, now I have to write.  So now I chose to write here.  I will copy and paste and add that tiny extra step. But somehow my soul has already breathed a sigh of relief.  No one will see this.  I will not blast this, I will not announce it, I will keep this to myself. But that's ok, because that's who I am doing it for.

And now...homework.

When I think of being proactive, I think of planning.  I think of being prepared for a variety of paths so that no matter what happens, I have a plan and will not react.  The phrase be proactive became a regular part of my vocabulary when I was working with some challenging students in a high risk school.  The focus of everything was to be proactive: be prepared.  Have behavior plans, have incentives, know the triggers, know their positives, look for signs of a bad day, start the day with good things, etc.  I was being proactive for my students.

Now, I need to look at being proactive for myself.  Am I proactive?  How can I be proactive?  How can I make it a habit of mine?

My natural personality is not one of "proactivity".  My natural personality is one of frustration and, I admit, I pout.  However, I also recognize that pouting and being frustrated and complaining doesn't get me any where or solve any problems.  The only thing it does, is become annoying OR become a breeding ground for negativity.  THAT is not my natural personality.

So how can I proactive?  I am going to take a look at how I approach school (both work and MA) at the moment.  Working on a MA while working full time alone is extremely overwhelming.  However, somehow, at school I have also managed to take on an incredible amount of extra curricular activities. It has gotten to the point where my attitude is becoming very poor.  I believe that this is the perfect opportunity for me to become more proactive.  I have already made it clear to my administration that I need help.  However, I need to be more proactive about seeking out the help I need.

I should accept any help that is offered instead of playing it cool, like I have everything under control. I should ask my colleagues if they can handle a task so that I can focus on a bigger priority.  I should take control over how I react.  I should be proactive.

This is a skill that I know I am capable of mastering.  It is something that I work very hard at typically.  However, now I recognize that in a time of stress, I need to be more purposeful at being proactive.

I will be teaching this skill to a group of teachers that I Vox with from all over the country.  We are all in a similar situation in that we are all teachers at the beginning of the school year.  We all love education.  We all work hard to make our classes a valuable and engaging experience for our students.  We are all experiencing significant causes for stress as the school year starts.  I believe that they would all benefit from hearing the words "Be Proactive".  It's a chance to put a word to what they already do, celebrate their successes of being proactive, and recognize when they are not...when we are all needing to change a negative habit and be more proactive.