Teachers! Read this if you haven’t. I come back to this notion often. 

Find Your Marigold: The One Essential Rule for New Teachers

Find Your Marigold: The One Essential Rule for New Teachers

SUMMARY

What it boils down to is the comparison of magnolias, a flower that helps other plants grow around it, versus walnut trees which suck all the nutrients up and cause other plants around them to die. Walnut trees just take too much. 

Some teachers are magnolias. They love their job, and are passionate. They do the work to get better and make school better for everyone. Magnolias help others grow. 

Some teachers are toxic, life sucking walnut trees, either done with the work through burnout, or just miserable with their career. Whatever the reason may be, the walnut tree teachers will take you down with them if you let them. 

THE CHANGE

I never imagined I could be this happy in my career. I always loved teaching but I allowed walnut tree teachers into my circle, and the garden got poisoned. 

In my new position, I’ve surround myself with magnolias. And I work every day to be a magnolia! Some might have found me cold coming into my new job but I was just cautious and observing, ensuring that I didn’t make the same mistakes. I kept walnut tree teachers at a distance, of course cordially completing whatever we needed to together, with as little contact as possible.

Teacher people, go towards the magnolias.

BE THE MAGNOLIAS. 

Going towards positive people will always push you forward in life, but getting away from toxic people will push you just as far, if not FURTHER. Way way further. 

IT’S ADDITION BY SUBTRATION 

Magnolias, get away from those walnut trees. It’s life changing. 

Trust me– surrounding yourself with teachers who love the work and are passionate will make you better AND happier. 

THE NEW OLD RESOURCE ROOM TEACHER

I recently had a newer coworker tell me “it’s so great to have first and second year teachers with so much passion and joy for what they do.” 

I’m new here, so I am a second year, but I have been a teacher for a little over a decade. And yet here I am, giving off new teacher vibes, loving the work and being a large and in charge magnolia. 

Oh and for the first time in about 8 years, I have a few resource rooms. Not going to lie, I was scared. I was dreading it. 

Resource room can be amazing but it can also be HARD. Kids push back sometimes because they see it as glorified homework help. I can recall a decade ago a student telling me he had no homework so he wasn’t working. I managed to get the other 3 kids to discuss an article with me but it was like pulling teeth so I was more than nervous with my planning for this course now.

One of my magnolias helped me change my tune about it, and change my plan.

Week 3 and I have kids reading and writing with me. I do it with them (as you can read right now) and they value it. They do it. My first few years as a resource teacher were so chaotic and scary. It doesn’t feel like that now. 

I see the value in the work, I’m surrounded by the magnolias, AND because of it, my vibrations are higher and I’ve had no push back.

My kids are reading. They’re writing. Discussing history, and of course getting help with their math. I do it with them so they see the value in it! I am their magnolia, since students are also my teachers right back.

Resource room can be a powerful support for academic work and ALSO skill work if you get the buy in. 

The magnolias get the buy in people! 

So do it. Read this– and even if you don’t, remember this notion– find the magnolias, and get away from the walnut trees.