As human beings, we tend to give more importance to negative experiences than to positive or neutral experiences. You are not alone, it’s our nature to fixate on bad news, a phenomenon known to psychologists as negativity bias. Sometimes we can’t help but focus on the negative even when they are insignificant compared to other positive instances. Why don’t we focus on having optimism?

Schools have been under enormous pressure to ensure that education for the students had as little disruption as possible when the Covid-19 outbreak began. Now that schools have been operating normally again, it is more important now than ever for school leaders to ensure the welfare of their students. Helping your students to be optimistic helps them to conquer obstacles and face any challenges in the future. Promoting realistic optimism in the classroom helps them to have positive role models. You and your fellow teachers can do this. Promoting optimism includes encouraging positive self-talk, encouraging your students to try out something new, teaching them to help others and appreciate them, and seeking joy even if they feel they can’t find it.