A colleague of mine sent this to us today. It made me take pause. I hope I can remember it each day before I enter the classroom. Being thoughtful about everything we do is both challenging and beyond rewarding. Enjoy.
I've come to the frightening conclusion that 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, humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or deescalated, a child humanized or dehumanized.
- Hiam Ginott
