1) Shoes are important. Every single day of school my friend W finds some way to comment on or compliment my shoes. As if I needed more reasons to purchase footwear....
2) Always take the time to say something nice. W goes out of her way to say something nice to me every day. For example- the shoes. On a regular basis she finds something nice to say about my hair, what I taught that day...or even just say thank you for a hug.
3) Anything worth having is worth fighting for. W fights for every single skill and every single fact that she can claim mastery of. She works and works hard for everything she gets out of my classroom. Because of this- it all means more for her. At the end of the day she is PROUD because she EARNED it.
4) Sidewalk chalk cures all ills. Ok, so this is a metaphor. But seriously, simple things can brighten up an entire day for W. So why focus on the negative when there is (figuratively speaking) a bright new box of sidewalk chalk on the shelf just waiting to be opened.
5) If it's out of your control...let it go. There are lots of things W has no control over. NONE. But, rather than get all worked up over things she can't change, she puts all her energy towards the things she can change. Like making sure that her friend T, who is having a bad day, smiles at least once before she goes home.
6) Own your dreams. W has a lot of dreams. Some of them may never happen. I know teachers aren't supposed to say things like this but...it's likely quite a few of them will never happen. IT DOESN'T MATTER. Her dreams are her own and she is going to keep on dreaming them. period. end of sentence. No one, but yourself, can damage your dreams.
A lot to take in from a 7 year old...no?
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So powerful. We all need to live like this lovely little 7 year old. And props to you for being a willing "student" of hers. Thanks for sharing. :)
ReplyDeleteYou make it impossible to become jaded with these antidotes. I appreciate it like you don't know.
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