How To Turn Teaching Crap Into Teaching Gold

This morning, I took a hot shower heated with the help of a few grass clippings and leftover food scraps.  The ranch where we are living has a unique way of making use of just about everything. I’m no bio-engineer…but here are the basics of what happens:

• Food scraps and yard clippings are placed around coiled tubes filled with water.
• As the organic matter breaks down it creates heat.
• The water is heated, and pumped into the showers and a hot water swimming pool (think giant Jacuzzi).

So here’s my question for all you teachers out there, how are you turning “crappy” situations into valuable and pleasurable gold? If someone can make a luxurious hot shower out of wilted lettuce leaves and grass, then surely you can do something creative with an annoying parent, too many students or too few resources. My mission for you today is simple.  Choose the cruddiest situation in your life and turn it into gold. There are many exercises and techniques for doing this. Try this one.

1. Write out situation
2. List the negative assumptions you have about the situation
3. Now write the exact opposite of the assumptions you listed above
4. Take each of the reversals and write about how to make them useful or meaningful.
5. Create action steps
6. Implement

Good luck and let me know how it goes!