An Educator's Imprint

Words have the power to hurt or heal, to encourage and empower or destroy.

What we say has a lasting impact on the spirits of our youth. From a personal experience, I watched one of my sons work hard in math at an early age (1st grade to be exact) to feeling defeated the moment he entered a math classroom.  This was the imprint on learning that his 1st-grade teacher left by saying he wasn't good in math. He believed her because after all, she was the teacher. That comment resonated in his spirit and still does. It didn't matter that he always scored well on the standardized test because in class he felt defeated.

Communicating with students should be no different from communicating with any other human being. While we are to be firm and clear about our expectations of them, we must allow respectful expressions of self.  I have observed teachers speak to students as if they were mindless beings taking up space. When the students responded (not reacted) with respectful disapproval the teacher gets upset and does what.... write a referral for disrespect simply because the student responded. Foolish!

AND I have processed referrals where the teacher reprimands high school students by holding them in for lunch that lasts only 30". A male student is hungry and says he is leaving to go to lunch. The teacher blocks the door and student walks through. The teacher then writes the student up for assault. Now, the student said he was leaving, why not let him. Wouldn't it have been better to let the student walk out and write him up for "leaving class without permission" or rather address the students that were misbehaving aside from everyone else? What was the root of the problem? In that situation, it was a teacher with no classroom management who lost control and didn't know how to get it back so he had to show them who was BOSS! These are just examples to demonstrate my point of students are human beings with emotions. How we choose to communicate with them will yield different responses from different students. It all depends on that student's background, home environment and teaching, how they are feeling at the moment, and many other factors. 

For you, it's not about having the upper hand. It's about building relationships that guide students to something different, something better, enriched, and enhanced. Need a starting point? Start by talking to them. Find out who they are. What are their hopes and dreams for a prosperous future? If they don't have any breathe hope into them. If they have it, guide them. Show them respect. Don't humiliate them by communicating your disapproval in front of their peers; take them aside have a conversation, and exercise corrective action.  This will leave an imprint that continues to guide students through life long after they leave your class.