ABSTRACT
One teacher told me, “I see students walking all over school listening to their phones or playing one of their games. These kids don’t listen, and they don’t care about the rules. So I’ve stopped saying anything to them.” Another teacher told me, “We might need to revisit our guidelines for cell-phone use. I’ve noticed it is becoming more of a distraction.” Hopefully, you see the difference in tone between those two statements. When staff members complain, they are doing little more than injecting negative energy into the situation. They are exasperated; they are venting; and they are not trying to solve any problems. Staff members who stay positive are not “Pollyanna,” naive, or looking through “rose-tinted glasses.” They are simply committed to remaining constructive. Every school has problems. Even good schools have challenges. The thing about good schools is that they tackle those challenges in a constructive way. They do not just complain about the challenges, they look for solutions. Rather than thinking it cannot be done, they think: “I cannot wait to figure out how we are going to do it.”
