What's the most important thing you've learned?

I went out to dinner with my brother when he was in town a couple of wees ago. We were talking about my job (I always talk about my job and am always thrilled to have a new audience). We were talking about something, I don't remember what, but I finished my sentence by saying that I've learned a lot from my job. He then asked me what was the most important thing I've learned. I say that I've learned a lot quite frequently, but I don't think I often stop to consider what I've actually learned. But when he asked the question I immediately knew the answer: Kind words work better than mean words. I can get so much more out of a quiet talk in the hall with a student than yelling at them. I'm glad to realize that fairly early in my career. The good news is that this doesn't just work with students. These very same principles are applicable with my colleagues. People don't respond to abrasive, at least I don't. It makes me want to hit people and I'm not a violent person.

Today, I used my kind voice to get some things done that I thought would be like pulling teeth. I had another run in with little miss call-my-mom-during-class (mentioned in a previous post). She's a beast. After school I went to see the programmer to see about getting her removed from my class. I said, "I have a huge favor. I need a student removed from my class." When she found out who it was she was very helpful in getting her schedule changed. I'm thrilled. This girl is the most disrespectful little snot I've ever met. She always complains that she wants out of my class (that alone doesn't bother me. I hear that everyday from a majority of my students). And I guarantee that she'll be asking me to change her schedule back before the end of the week. She's just that kind of whiner. My words seem very harsh, I realize that, but it isn't very often that I grow to dislike students so much. In fact, I daresay this is the first time. She's better off. It's really a win-win-lose situation. My heart goes out to the new teacher that has to deal with her.