Practicum starts two weeks today. Everyone is buzzing – either from excitement, stress, caffeine overloads, or a combination of all of them. I have been focusing on the stress: can I get my unit plans and lesson plans done on time? will the students like me? will I be an effective teacher? how can I reduce all of this stress?

I think its time for a mindset switch. To calm down, I have a SODA: Stop, observe, deliberate, and act. I stop, take a few deep breaths. I observe my emotions, my thoughts, and how I am (or was) acting. Deliberate is where I plan what I’m going to do and engage is trust thought processes. Then I act by putting these plans into action, but with a changed mindset.

In times of high stress, sometimes I feel like I need a pep talk, words of support and encouragement. I have learned to take solace in YouTube sensation Kid President’s pep talks. After observing that I’m stressed, feeling discouraged, overwhelmed, beaten down or ready to give up, I choose to watch Kid President’s first pep talk (video below). Without fail, I can watch this video and feel transformed, ready to take on new tasks and be awesome. I can act on these new feelings, refreshed and ready for the challenges that I just bogging me down. I watch these videos and I am ready – ready to face the storm of fear and excitement, confusion and growth, and teaching and learning.

This is your time. This is my time. This is our time. – Kid President