Opinion Blog

Classroom Q&A

With Larry Ferlazzo

In this EdWeek blog, an experiment in knowledge-gathering, Ferlazzo will address readers’ questions on classroom management, ELL instruction, lesson planning, and other issues facing teachers. Send your questions to lferlazzo@epe.org. Read more from this blog.

Teaching Profession Opinion

Teachers Offer Self-Care Tips in Just a Few Words

By Larry Ferlazzo — October 31, 2023 2 min read
Images shows colorful speech bubbles that say "Q," "&," and "A."
  • Save to favorites
  • Print

(This the final post in a two-part series. You can see Part One here.)

How do we teachers get past tough days and ready to approach the next day fresh and positive?

Here are some ideas from educators:

Everyone deserves the gift of a fresh start that tomorrow will bring-including you.
I’m playing long ball.
As the Traveling Wilburys once said: 'Every day is just one day.'
How can I turn this oops into an opportunity?
I'll try again tomorrow.
No two days are the same.
Tomorrow will be better; go swimming, stand up paddle boarding, or for a walk, and eat something healthy tonight.
Forgive yourself and others.
Tomorrow is a new day and they will be ready for a fresh start so I need to be there with them
I play guitar for 15 minutes- sometimes softly, sometimes with the amplifier cranked up to 11.
Tomorrow’s a new day, a new opportunity.
Remember it was a bad day, not a bad life. Tomorrow is a fresh start.
Having deep personal interests outside of school (for me running & raising animals) have been therapeutic - teaching is just one of the many things I do; it doesn't define who I am.
Every day is a clean slate, for me and them.
My late parents used to tell me...'Ya mañana será otro día.'
I remind myself I have another chance tomorrow, then I blast my favorite music on the ride home.
I think about what went wrong and how I will fix it or work through it with my students the next day.
In the wise words of Nemo , 'Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!'

Thanks to everyone who contributed their thoughts!

The question-of-the-week is:

You’re a teacher, and you’ve had a very tough day in the classroom. In one sentence (not a run-on), what do you say to yourself and/or do to get beyond it and back into a positive frame of mind for the next day?

Part One shared teachers’ responses from Twitter and Facebook.

Consider contributing a question to be answered in a future post. You can send one to me at lferlazzo@epe.org. When you send it in, let me know if I can use your real name if it’s selected or if you’d prefer remaining anonymous and have a pseudonym in mind.

You can also contact me on Twitter at @Larryferlazzo.

Education Week has published a collection of posts from this blog, along with new material, in an e-book form. It’s titled Classroom Management Q&As: Expert Strategies for Teaching.

Just a reminder; you can subscribe and receive updates from this blog via email (The RSS feed for this blog, and for all Ed Week articles, has been changed by the new redesign—new ones are not yet available). And if you missed any of the highlights from the first 11 years of this blog, you can see a categorized list below.

I am also creating a Twitter list including all contributors to this column.

Related Tags:

The opinions expressed in Classroom Q&A With Larry Ferlazzo are strictly those of the author(s) and do not reflect the opinions or endorsement of Editorial Projects in Education, or any of its publications.

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Special Education Webinar
Hidden Costs of Special Ed Vacancies: Solutions for Your District
When provider vacancies hit, students feel it first. Hear what district leaders are doing to keep IEP-related services on track.
Content provided by Huddle Up
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Privacy & Security Webinar
How Technology Is Reshaping Childhood
How do we protect kids online while embracing innovation? Learn about navigating safety, privacy, and opportunity in the Digital Age.
Content provided by Connect x Protect
Budget & Finance Webinar Creative Approaches to K-12 Budget Realities
What are districts prioritizing in 2026? New survey data reveals emerging K-12 budgeting trends.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Teaching Profession AI Can Help Teachers Craft Their Assessment Portfolios. Is That Cheating?
The tools help guide teacher reflection for the portfolios used for PD and licensing—or be used to cheat.
9 min read
Northside American Federation of Teachers President Melina Espiritu-Azocar, right, speaks with middle school teacher Celeste Simone during a Microsoft AI skilling event, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, in San Antonio.
Northside American Federation of Teachers President Melina Espiritu-Azocar, right, speaks with middle school teacher Celeste Simone during a Microsoft AI skill-building event on Sept. 27, 2025, in San Antonio. As use of generative AI ramps up, it could affect the integrity of the portfolios teachers have to assemble in many states to meet licensing requirements.<br/>
Darren Abate/AP
Teaching Profession Increases in Teacher Pay Offset by Inflation, Union Analysis Shows
The inflation-adjusted increase was less than 1 percent, the National Education Association says.
2 min read
Image of a teacher's desk with the words "Pay Day" ghosted on the background.
Collage by Laura Baker/Education Week with Canva
Teaching Profession Opinion Portrayals of Educators on Film and TV: The Good, the Bad, The Ugly
From "Lean on Me" to "Abbott Elementary," how realistic is Hollywood’s representation of schools?
14 min read
Conceptual illustration of classroom conversations and fragmented education elements coming together to form a cohesive picture of a book of classroom knowledge.
Sonia Pulido for Education Week
Teaching Profession Download 5 Strategies for Supporting K-12 Teachers: Lessons From California
This resource discusses the main takeaways from a March 2026 live event hosted by Education Week and EdSource.
1 min read
Attendees and panelists partake in breakout sessions during the State of Teaching event in San Francisco in March 2026.
Attendees and panelists partake in breakout sessions during the State of Teaching event in San Francisco in March 2026.
Andrew Reed/EdSource