5 Steps to Keeping a Teaching Journal

Now that I've convinced myself that, heck, journaling actually seems like a good idea maybe. How do we actually... do it? 

This is where I set my own standards for keeping a teaching journal. People are free to follow these, but this is what I think will be realistic for me personally, as a known procrastinator, but ultimately well-intentioned individual.

1. Make Regular Entries

For me this means at least once a week. However, for my own sake I won't be phrasing it this way. I know that if my goal is to write in a journal this infrequently I am likely to forget, and ultimately drop journaling entirely. Instead, I will intend to write at least a few words in my journal daily. This helps a huge deal for a number of reasons. First of all I'm writing more frequently, so I'm going to get a lot more out of the habit of journaling. Second of all, I thrive on having a set schedule. Routine is difficult if you're doing something different everyday. This leads directly into the next point.

2. Set Aside Time for Journaling

Whether during your lunch break, or in the evening before dinner, setting aside a specific time slot for writing in your journal will do wonders for cultivating a habit. I may try journaling first thing in the morning, as it has the potential for setting the tone for my day, and orienting myself in the right frame of mind for teaching (or, currently: learning about teaching). We'll see how that goes though, since I am not a morning person, and may find it difficult to write about the things that happen yesterday so soon after waking up.

3. Anything Goes

Structure doesn't matter. Write about anything that comes to mind, as long as it's relevant. Writing can be cathartic, and getting your thoughts out there, whatever they are will help you to look at the situation analytically and reflect on what could be going wrong. Or right!

4. Focus On Successes Too

Listen, if your journal is all negative thoughts you're probably being hard on yourself, or on your students, and neither of those things are going good places. It's exactly the same as when you're dealing with another person - if they hear nothing but criticism and are never recognised for the good stuff they do they're going to believe that they suck. Essentially. So write down the small successes. It'll make you feel good, and you'll continue to grow and do better.

5. Keep Your Journal Well Rounded

Make sure to target different areas of your teaching. You want to be good at your job yes? All aspects of it? Makes sense, write about all of it. Are you offering equal time to all of your students? Did you prepare well for that class? Did you handle that conflict well? How can you better handle crowd control?

Bonus: Look Back on Old Journals

See how you've grown. Be encouraged by the mistakes you've made that you've learned from, and the concerns you had that you've overcome.