An encore post that stays relevant, not surprisingly, in the NFL or here at home.

A coach from a nearby NFL team talked about three ways to face adversity. He suggested that most people react in one of these ways:

• Remain oblivious
• Crumble
• Embrace it

This philosophy applies to public school teaching as well.

1. I once worked with a principal who remained oblivious to adversity. When faced with challenges, she would spout her buzzwords of “differentiate” and “test scores” without ever answering the questions we raised. She thought she understood, but she was clueless. Simply clueless. And everyone around her knew it.
2. It’s far too easy to crumble as my workload grows and the pay doesn’t, while public support continues to fade. I may react initially with a feeling of failure and hopelessness, but eventually I manage to keep up and cope.
3. I work with a group of teachers who embrace challenges. The pressure wears on us daily, but we hold each other up and look for ways to meet the challenges.

With a week off between Christmas and the New Year (my equivalent of a Bye week), I rested and got myself psyched for going back to school. I brought home a little work, but not a lot. I decided to be realistic and not overload my schoolbag. I’ll log in and grade tests and quizzes, but I’ll leave the time-consuming portfolio assessments for my return to my desk.

Minor injuries? In teaching, that’s more likely to be illness. I had my flu shot, and so did Amigo. It’s the season for keeping hand sanitizer on my desk and water bottle  with filter by my side for hydration.