A Few Kind Words Go A Long Way

Yesterday was a particularly tough day for me. Besides some of my students behaving badly, I attended a meeting after school, during which someone insulted what I teach. This person basically implied that the business education classes I (and many others) teach were essentially a waste of time. Basically, this person said that due to block scheduling, students are spending less time in core classes and more time in classes that are not as useful.

Now, I understand what this person was "trying" to say, but after a long day, it just did not rub me the right way. I know that what I teach is an elective. I know that my classes are not a graduation requirement, but many students have found them to be very useful.

Nevertheless, the point of this blog is not to discuss the validity of business education courses. I really want to say what a difference another teacher made in my day.

Later, when I was walking in the parking lot toward my car, another teacher stopped me. She was already driving her car, but she pulled off to the side to speak to me. She said she has been so impressed by what I have done during only four years at the school. And she said she just wanted me to know how lucky our school was to have me on staff.

I almost started to tear up hearing her words. She didn't have to pause to tell me any of that. She was already in her car. She could have just kept driving. But she went out of her way to be kind to me. She could not have known how I was feeling, but what a difference she made in my afternoon.

I guess you never know what a few kind words may mean to a person. We should probably be more generous in offering them.