Thou Shalt Not Kill

Did you ever kill anything?  No, I'm not asking for a confession to murder here and repentance for violating the 6^th commandment.  Seriously, I bet the majority of those reading have killed a spider.  Maybe you have swatted a fly to its demise.  Perhaps you have added a “thousand legger” to the bottom of your shoe.  How about a mouse that you caught in a non-humane trap?  Maybe you are a hunter and you have brought home dinner or several dinners in the form of a deer, rabbit, pheasant, or quail.  Don’t forget about that enjoyable relaxing sport of fishing where the goal is to haul something in by use of a metal barbed hook that lances the mouth of the fish.  Maybe you have slaughtered farm animals with the intention that they end up on your dinner plate.  No, this isn’t a message from P.E.T.A. and a sad video asking for monthly donations, but here I go – why is okay to kill some things and not others?  Why is it okay to step on ants like Danny Kaye doing a tap dance and not okay to knock off the person who cut you off on the expressway? Why is okay to chemically kill a nest of wasps but not okay to drop the guy who looked at you funny? The answer is simple = it all comes down to what is valued.  Things of value do not get killed without penalty; sometimes the penalty is immediate and sometimes the penalty is down the road.  Regardless, there is a penalty.

Okay,” Where are you going with this?”, you may be asking.  In school, the worst thing to kill is a kid’s spirit.   How is that possible?  I would never do that!  That never happens here.  Not on my watch!   Let’s check on that.  The first check if you are a spirit slayer is to ask yourself if you know what makes each of your students tick.  By now, you should have some semblance of what that is.  If not, you are a prime suspect in the case of the spirit killer. Check two – when your students enter your classroom, do you greet them in a positive way, comment on a personal achievement or their appearance, or ask them how things are going? If not, get in the line-up so that the victim can identify you. Check three – do you celebrate the “little victories” with a student?  Do you compliment them on finally mastering a concept, improving their performance, completing their homework for the first time, or being at school five days in a row?  If not, there is a picture of you in the student’s “Post Office.”  In general, teachers do not kill any student’s spirit on purpose.  It happens unintentionally in most cases because we miss the opportunity to encourage.  We miss the opportunity to compliment.  We miss the opportunity to reward.  We miss the opportunity to value their aspirations and personal goals.  It doesn’t have to be that way!  We just need to recognize what they want from us – acceptance, praise, and simply recognizing that we value them.  Many years from now, these kids will attend their graduation reunion and guess what – they will talk about you!  They will, mark my words.  Here’s the part of you they will talk about – how you treated them.  Yes, they will mention the spirit killers, but will do so with disdain.  The bulk of the conversation will center on how you believed in them, how you made a difference in their lives, and how they wanted to be like you.  If you show them that they are valued, that’s what they will be saying.  Things of value do not get killed without penalty; sometimes the penalty is immediate and sometimes the penalty is down the road. Regardless, there is a penalty.

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The Browns travel to St. Louis to face the Rams.  Ironically, the baseball team in St. Louis was originally named the “St. Louis Browns.”  Go figure…