When I first began teaching, I often heard people who had been in the classroom for quite a long time say, “Don’t smile until Christmas!” I heard that comment and I had to admit that I wondered if I was in the right career! Not smile? How could I do that? Was this really true? Would I be a bad teacher if I smiled? Did my favorite teachers smile? So many questions. What to do?
My decision was a no brainer for me on many levels. First of all, I couldn’t avoid smiling. It was in my personality to smile for a lot of reasons and certainly there would be enough funny experiences in class to warrant a smirk or two. Second of all, how could not smiling create an atmosphere that students would want to be in – not to mention one that I’d want to be in? I may have tried not smiling that first year, but I know it didn’t last long and I certainly smiled on a pretty regular basis for the rest of my teaching years.
Why wouldn’t we smile? Remember how difficult high school was? It’s even tougher now on many levels and a smile is the simplest thing we can do to welcome our students to class and to let them know that they’re in a safe, comfortable environment. We don’t have to become friends with our students but there’s no reason to become their enemy. Life is very difficult for many kids these days and I believe part of our job as teachers is to create a happy environment that makes learning fun.
Research shows that when we smile, even when we’re not in the best mood, we begin to feel better. Our bodies equate certain expressions with certain feelings. We can feel good and smile or we can smile and feel good. It works both ways. That’s why people who are feeling sad are asked to “smile” to feel better. We actually do. So here we are as the teacher smiling and feeling better. Our smile is reflected back at us by the students who in turn feel better. A great way to start a class! Your students will have a better chance of enjoying their time in your class too!
So smile! We picked this career. Enjoy the ride!
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