Meet My Best Friend

This is Pollyanna. She's my best friend in teaching, but don't worry- she can be yours too. You see Pollyanna isn't actually real. Pollyanna is a reminder to speak nicely of others:

• Positively
• Only
• Lovingly
• Loyal
• Yarns
• And
• Never
• Nasty
• Anecdotes.

She isn't my invention, but I honestly can't say where I "met" her. I can say that she has been a great help through my teaching career.

You see Queensland is a very small place, Education Queensland is even smaller. Everyone knows everyone. Everyone talks to everyone. It really is best if everyone doesn't talk about everyone, but they do. Don't get bogged down in the negative talk, it really can be quite destructive.

The Grumpy Teacher nextdoor from last term is tomorrow's HOC, the Yelly (yes it is a word- it has to be after you've heard the yelling I've heard!) Teacher from down the hall is tomorrow's teaching partner. If you have spoken badly of them it will have gotten back to them, leaving you in a very awkward spot.

Everyone has bad days. You just have to give everyone else the benefit of the doubt and assume on that really bad day when you saw them, well that they were having a bad day too. So my advice is to remember the good bits, learn from the "other" bits and just keep smiling... and if necessary have a good whinge to someone who is completely and absolutely unrelated to teaching (good luck finding such a person- if necessary a cat can be a good stand-in).