Day 3,755 —There is a Nicer way to Say That—

I can be as negative at times as anyone and say things that I believe are true and there is evidence to support my view, so I think that justifies me being a little snippy. This usually happens when I made my point the “nice way” and everyone ignored me and kept moving on their way.

         Yet, last week I was hatin’ on my teams’ aspirations for PD this week and I feel like a jerk. I said something like, “Whose idea was this in the first place.”

         What makes it worse, at this point people on my team have given me two different opportunities to apologize for my blunder and I have missed it completely. My only excuse is that I am more irritable than usual. 7 people on my team moved on to new positions this year, and I am happy for them all, but it does make me feel more uncertain than ever. Unfortunately, I am now part of the “OG” group, and the people who originally mentored me are now gone.

         The reason I am writing this is that I hate it if I ever come off as “holy” or like I got it all together. When I would tell my students that “there is a nicer way to say that,” I am not saying it because I am good at saying nice things all the time. I am saying it because I need the reminder. The nice way is rarely the first or even second or third response that comes to my head.