It's How You Get There

Littles feel pain. Sometimes it's easy to forget that. They play so well, laugh hard, are good at acting like they can't hear thing. Sometimes it's easy to forget that. That they get dragged into big people problems that aren't their fault. That there are pains and struggles they have to pretend don't exist when they come to school. Their lives have to continue, and often at the beat of someone else's drum. Some of these emotions are shiny and new, terrifying in their size and intensity. Their very presence creating a overwhelming paralysis. Augmenting the terror.  Then they cry and are told they can't. They're told to use words they don't have. To express feelings they don't know exist. Is it a wonder then they turn to silence? That when they realize they can't be understood they pull away and stay within themselves? Because at least that's a constant. In this whirl of pain and confusion, at least they can trust themselves to not disappo...

“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 When I was younger I remember how excited I was when I would get that text notification from a friend. Before that it had been email, and I'd have to wait days between messages. When I first started texting I loved the faster responses, hearing from them within minutes. Gleaning every ounce from the 160 word count limits. This was a vast improvement it seemed to me from having to wait for the email or the chance to see them on Sunday at church. I loved my friends, and I loved...