Deconstruct #2 - Week of 1/10

Each of us is special and we need to feel that way!

While I was reading "The Big Picture" one thing that struck me, was a story that was told about when the author had a bet with one of the kids for a free dinner. I think the bet was if he wasn't gone from school, but that part wasn't as important as the message of the teachers and administrators treating each student as an individual, not as a unit. It reminded me of my dad. My dad was a 6th grade teacher for 35 years, well he actually taught a few grades, but 6th grade or probably the last 10-15 years. Anyway, this example really reminded me of some of his teaching methods. I always knew he was a great teacher because people would come up to him years later and tell them what they learned. He definately strayed from the curriculum and thought that teaching life lessons and trust and respect were more important. The response the kids gave him told him he was right. Anther thing he did is give each kid a nick name, often times these nick names would stick with them through their high school years. The common thread of the story from the book was my dad made different deals with the kids during the year and I don't know if they were bets or what, but the reward was he would take the kid out to lunch, just the 2 of them. The kids absolutely loved this. The would remember it YEARS later.

To me this is a lesson that it really does matter who the person is and when they know that someone truly cares about them and takes some time to show it, so many many things are possible.