Ashley Boehme

I have learned that in the education field instrinsic motivation has to be present in order to get the job done with success. There are not many extrinsic motivators for teachers, so the internal has to be present. You have to love what you do and what you are teaching and hope your excitement will be contagious and carry over to the class. You have to find joy in seeing your students go into the real world and be successful and realize they are successful because of you. You were their first stop to success!

I learned different stratigies in coping with stress. Having good relationships with your work peers can be tremendous help to give you some new insight on what you are dealing with. Everyone will encounter stress in their personal and work life - how you equip yourself to handle it is what is important. 

I learned that I need to become mindfull at work. I need to slow way down and try and focus on one task at a time. I also need to become more aware of when I am feeling stressed and take a minute to stop, breathe and reconnect with my brain. 

I learned that facing situation head on is the more healthy approach because even if you cope with it for a while, you eventually have to deal with it. 

I learned that practicing deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation are good methods to get your body and your mind at ease. This technique I feel could work well in the middle of your day to prepare you to get through the second half of your day with more ease. 

I also feel that focusing on three positive things that happened everyday is good. This would focus your mind on the good/ not the stressful. 

I think the best approach is to start with some extrinsic motivators such as rewards of some type and then hope the intrinsic will kick in and students would become motivated to achieve success internally. I would hope that in our school setting, if a student chooses to go through a particular program it is because they are internally motivated to become successful in that career as a start. 

I have learned that while teaching adult students it's very important to make them feel like its a partnership in their learning. With younger people you do not tend to give them much choice in their learning environment, but with adults it's better to do so to keep them engaged and motivated.