Queen of the Quadratic

Friday, July 28, 2006

Noteworthy Quote

"I've come to a frightening conclusion," he said. "I am the decisive element in the classroom. My personal approach creates the climate. My daily mood makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. It is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanized or dehumanized."

This came in my email today from a source who usually sends me useless fluff. I had heard it before, but like to ponder it near the dawning of the new year in preparation for my new little blocks of clay.

While I know I'm not the only influence the students have in their lives (as a high school teacher, I am one of no less than 7 just like me), the mere fact that I have this much influence in their lives takes my breath away. For some, the only kind words they'll hear that day are uttered by me. For some, the only encouragement they'll receive is in my classroom. For most (and this is the truly sad part), the only intellectual challenge they'll encountered is presented by me.

They come with few manners and a total lack of regard for others. What blindsides me is the rare occassions that I get to watch the same kids in other teacher's classrooms. The manners that they display in my room seem confined to those four walls.

It is true that I control the weather for that 50 minutes of their lives. I just need to remember to meditate on this fact each morning and between each period.

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