I’m listening to a podcast on perfectionism. I don’t think I’ve ever been a perfectionist, but there’s definitely been elements of perfectionism in aspects of my behaviour. It was one thing I battled against as a teacher. I never told my students that I always expected them to do “their best” or try their “hardest” with every assessment task. I would simply encourage & support them to build on their learning & make improvements, to show progress of some sort.
I remember speaking to one mother ( & looking back, the student might’ve been autistic), & saying that even if they were capable of doing very well in all subjects, I didn’t think it was realistic. They excelled in the subjects they loved, & merely did well (very well) in the rest. (Sadly, including the subjects I taught. 🫤) And that was ok. It was more than ok.
