Some of you might not want to hear this kind of message, so you can move along if you are looking for something uplifting tonight. Imagine you are 4 years old and your father is in jail. He came at your mom with a knife…well, he actually wounded her. In the neck. I have 3 more stories like this, but each gets worse. So I want you to look at this:
I wish that man had given this speech to the parents of the children I taught this year. I wish he had told them that they were demoted and he was in charge. From now on they had to do what he said. The majority of my motivational posts this year were to help me work through some of the things I so often would like to say, but can’t. I have worked with many families over the years. Some of them requesting me for siblings, some of them wishing they didn’t have someone like me telling them the truth. In the end, the majority of them seem to understand that what I do, I do for their children, not for them. This year was one of the hardest classes I have ever taught because of the lack of parental guidance. There were a few parents who cared, but most seemed unaware I existed. Manners seem to be a thing of the past. Not in my room. I teach social skills, manners and politeness. So my tiny friends who have witnessed so much in so little time, please remember what you learned. To my little helper, I am counting on you not to be a gangster when you grow up. Please don’t break my heart for you have so much potential and will do great things. To my angry child, thank you for hugging me when you were mad. Remember to use your words. Lastly, to the family I have been part of for two years, your mom is watching over you. She hopes you know that. It is time for all of us to move on. Including me.
“Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.” ~Martin Luther King, Jr.