Learning From Our Principles

The great Robin Williams once said, “You’ll have bad times, but it’ll always wake you up to the good stuff you weren’t paying attention to.” Despite his passing, this man was a comedy genius and still is as time moves on. I guess we can assume that one of his principles in life was to bring joy to others, and make them laugh with tears. Nothing beats a good laugh, especially when you need one. I enjoyed everything about this film icon, and I always admired him and his principles for helping others when they needed comfort.  Because of this man, I strongly believe in my mind and in my heart that he made the world just a little bit better, with his spirit.

Looking at principles, I once gave my students a project where they had to elaborate on three principles that best described them. Each student focused on writing down their own principles and reflecting on how they evaluated their own character, and identity. This might seem like a simple task for any person in your mind, but you would be wrong. Of course I am speaking for myself. I also speak for a handful of my students who found this task challenging.

Anytime I assign a special project like this, a majority of the students seem to be edgy. When I see them hesitant and resistant to a project like this, I tell them the following, “It’s okay if you find this challenging. I know it is. This project may cause you to go back into the past. That’s okay. I’m going to do this project with you.” As a teacher, I always challenge my students to look at themselves in a deeper way. I challenge them to look into their heart and mind, and search for those specific times when they brought others happiness. Also, they may need to look back to a time, when they were not kind to others. The challenge or task is really to look deep within yourself, and see where you altered your principles.

While I was doing this assignment too, I looked at my principles on what I felt best described me. My principles are family, friends, and students. Each principle brings me joy, and these principles do not categorize me as being successful; yet it inspires me to be better. Now, looking back on these three principles, I've done some reflecting and it hasn’t been walk in the park. At one time or another, I may have hurt someone who is a family member, a friend, or a student. I can honestly say that it was never my intention to hurt anyone. I have done some things in my life that I am not proud of. Today, I am still disappointed in myself for how I acted towards those who looked up to me. But with time, comes clarity. Once time and clarity come, the relationship continues and it starts off where it was paused.

When the students shared with me their experience on this assignment, a majority of them told me that they immediately connected with their friends. Also, some of them reached out to their friends who they have not spoken to in months, and some in years due to an argument. “What was the last thing you said to your friend?” I asked.  One student raised his hand and said, “At the end of the conversation, I just said, I love you bro.”

I took a chance on this assignment by assigning this and doing it as well, and I had a strong feeling in my gut that it would not register and fail; but I was hoping in my mind and heart it wouldn't. The mind and heart always wins.

It is important to challenge and cultivate a relationship with others, and wish them the very best all the time. With that said, we must teach our students to be individuals of character, heart, and courage. We must also encourage our students to learn from other students, who embody the character of those who teach love, speak love and be love. Every human being has an impact on another.

A teacher’s mission is not just based on curriculum and assessment; it’s to improve the quality of a student’s character. I promise you when you step into that classroom, you will make an impact on those young minds. Treat them with respect. Find your own principles and let that represent your character and identity. Whatever path you choose, your character and identity will be a constant light that shines bright.

Kings of Leon, an amazing band, once express the significance of how important it is to have people in your life through a song. Let's teach the youth not to take others for granted. And to your family and friends, tell them you love them!





Robin Williams photo provided by the following link. Click here

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why Do We Teach? Why Are We Educators?

Hello everyone, If you are on this blog, you must have a passion for education and becoming a teacher. Teaching is something that is not necessarily a job, but a gift. As a child, teachers or people who worked in the education field were always around me. Members of my family were teachers, reading and instructional aids, administrators, and school district administrators. Being in education for me, was something that I never wanted to do. I personally had a hard time in school academically, and felt that I did not fit in with the other students. However, I learned that if I surround myself with people who would influence me and support me, I would benefit from it tremendously. In my early twenties I went into education and almost a decade later, I have not looked back. Teachers help create a foundation for who we become in life. The task and responsibilities are challenging, but it is rewarding to see the success of a student’s progress in their face when they are smiling. We as t...
Read more

Those Who Think They Know Everything

Most of the time, I just let people say what they want to say. Rather I agree with them or not is irrelevant. Everyone is entitled to his or her own opinions, and I guess that gives them some kind of entitlement to voice their point-of-views. It seems today that everyone has an opinion about how you should do your job, but they do not concentrate on themselves. In education, there are teachers who know everything about human behavior and nothing about curriculum and assessment. There are some teachers who know everything about professional development, critical thinking assessment, curriculum mapping, and class implementation; but who are totally ignorant of the human condition.   I recently had a conversation with another educator. The overall conversation was on the differences between public, and private school students. Her argument came from an opinion and observation that public school students are able to adapt in surroundings easier, than private school students. I...
Read more

Priorities Over Character?

“If a child is taught nothing else to save character alone, he will be better prepared for life than those who are taught pure academics, but no character.”                                                                                                                                  - Ray Ballman I think the hardest thing for a teenager today, is to learn more an...
Read more