|
I got a letter from a former student today. She said that her new school is huge and she almost got lost, but is adapting well to her new environment. She also commented on how much she misses being in my class as she not only learned a lot, but had fun doing it. Apparently her new teacher "yells all the time" and her lessons are "boring". What I was most impressed with is that she took the time to send me a letter via snail mail (she is 10 years old) and that after she commented on how much she does not care for her new teacher, she wrote that she understands that "life is not fair, get used to it" and that she is just going to have to 'suck it up' - which are two quotes my students are very familiar with as I often say it to them.
I guess she did learn a lot in my class.
On a lighter note, I just reached the 12km mark of my goal to participate in a 30km marathon in late March. I was pleased with my time of 1:00:01 which included a number of lights where I had to stop running, but my running computer did not. And despite the cool temperature (-3C), I felt amazing and look forward to adding a kilometer this weekend.
jaYson
__________________
I’ve come to a frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that 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 heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or dehumanized.
--Haim Ginott--
|