"I'm Great"

When you're teaching and you can actually tell the kids are learning it produces such a high. Another high I get is when the kids teach me something instead. Recently I learned a small, but powerful gesture from a student at my school.

"A" was a student of mine for just a few days. He was placed in my class in October. When I realized he didn't have a great grasp of English I asked around. It turned out he was supposed to be in the 5th grade bilingual class. 5th grade bilingual is in room 413 and I'm in 313, so I suppose it's an easy mistake.

A still says hi whenever we pass each other in the halls. I'll always ask him how he's doing, and he always replies the same thing. "I'm great!" Think of how often you ask someone how they're doing. What's the usual response? Fine. Okay. At best, good. Something about hearing "great" is a pleasant surprise. And I noticed it picked up my mood a bit.

So, lately I've been trying it out. When someone asks me how I'm doing, I'll say, "I'm great." Maybe it's not always true. But sometimes just saying it helps improve my mood. And I can only hope it improves the mood of whoever is asking, the way A has cheered me up from time to time.