How To Foster Grit While You Teach

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Does this year seem to be the hardest of your teaching career?

Are the students more tired and lifeless every day they come to school?

Does teaching leave you exhausted daily because you get little to no response from your students?

I know these feelings are real because I experience them daily in my AP Art History class, which is only for seniors.

How can we turn this experience into an experiment to make ourselves more resilient?

Can this be a teachable moment to teach grit to our students through our example?

While teaching these lessons, can we become stronger and more burnout-resilient?

The Meaning of GRIT

I am answering yes to these questions by reminding myself of the biggest lessons I have learned from Angela Duckworth’s book Grit.

I created an acronym to help me remember and apply these lessons as I navigate the final days of the school year.

G is for Goals

I set a goal to start each class with something engaging. I have used SEL check-ins, memes, and personal stories to grab the students' attention.