Hurt or Heal?

I have been doing a lot of studying so far this summer... sometimes more than I want to.... but I have been learning some incredible things! I am going to be a better teacher and even a better person, I think, from these experiences. 


One of the things I am doing is taking 4 online courses. Each course has an assigned text on a certain topic that everyone in the class reads, a chapter at a time, writes a response to, then posts online. Online commenting and discussion groups are ongoing for all the topics. Sort of like a blog that everyone can contribute to. Anyway, one of my classes is based on the book "The Highly Engaged Classroom" by Robert Marzano & Debra Pickering, and after reading the first chapter tonight, I am already totally hooked. I've written my post about it on the discussion group, so my purpose here is not to review what I read. Instead, it is prompted by one of the other members of the class who posted a quote that has made me stop and evaluate how I interact with the people in my life. Here is the quote, by Hiam G. Ginott, who was a school teacher in Israel, a child psychologist and psychotherapist:


“I've come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. 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 humor, hurt 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 de-humanized.”

 I feel that this is true. Unfortunately though it is, sometimes, for my students, as my mood is not always sunny with a few fluffy white clouds. But I feel that this idea has wider application, too. We all can be the decisive element in a relationship with a family member or friend, in a family or group dynamic, and really, with anyone we come in contact with. It is an awesome responsibility. But we can make a difference in many of the situations of life that we are faced with, by how we respond. We can be the one who takes our tremendous power and uses it as a tool for optimism and inspiration. We can make a situation worse or hurt someone we love, or we can bring a healing power. I want to be more aware of my influence on those around me, and use it for good.