Is it bad to start a teacher blog with a Monty Python clip?

I guess it’s a little unorthodox, but I’ve been humming this tune in my head the last few days as I’ve thought about how we see the world.

When I was in 3rd or 4th grade, I had a teacher who used to have us play a game called “Good Luck, Bad Luck”. We’d sit in a circle, and it went something like this:

  • 1st person: What good luck! I got all my homework done!
  • 2nd person: What bad luck! I left my folder at home.
  • 3rd person: What good luck! My mom saw it and dropped it off at school.
  • 4th person: What bad luck! She said I had to help with laundry since she went out of her way.
  • 5th person: What good luck! I found $5.00 in the pocket of a pair of pants.
  • 6th person: What bad luck! They weren’t my pants.

And it would continue until we had gone around the circle two or three times. I’m not sure what learning target she had written in her lesson plans, but I know we loved it and it stretched us to think differently. It also forced us to find the silver lining in any situation.

Several things have happened in the last couple of weeks to make me think about how important it is to be able to see that ‘good luck’ side.

First, I spent a couple of hours messaging back and forth with a former student who is now a teacher. She was having one of those days, and when I saw her post on Facebook, rather than giving her an answer, I responded with a question of my own. That led to our private messaging back and forth for quite a while. (I am so proud of this young woman and the teacher I know she has become. Even in her frustration she was being proactive.)

Then I happened to see Jen Merrill’s  Henny Penny Challenge post pop up in my Facebook news feed. Her challenge is to post three positive things at the end of each day, and Jen does a great job of finding the silver lining.

And last week I was inspired (once again) by Krissy Venosdale. Her latest venspired post Understanding My Heart talked about those people in life who actually “get” her.

I understand that. I have those people in my life, too; can’t imagine not because

It’s easy to get discouraged.

Things don’t go as planned.

Some things are outside of your circle of control.

The negatives seem to jump up and down, screaming for attention.

While the positives wave politely and wait to be noticed.

So, here’s my challenge to you.

Find the bright side.

Point it out.

Write it down.

Share it.

You never know, it may be just what someone else needs to see.