I'm sure by now everyone has seen the appalling video of the elementary teacher that grabbed a student by the face in the hallway. While many of us may not know all of the circumstances surrounding this event, I know we are all aghast at the actions of the adult. None of us should question the uproar around the abusive actions of an adult who is meant to be trusted with the well-being of someone else's child.
Yet, how many of us pay any attention to the other abuses of power that we often witness in our schools? What about the teacher who berates a student in front of the rest of the class, or the administrator that tells a young person that he or she will not amount to anything, or even the cafeteria worker that constantly hears a child being verbally harassed and bullied, yet does not intervene? Aren't these acts of negligence just as harmful? Granted, they will not leave bruises or scrapes, but isn't the harm the same?
I read today in my "Words of Wisdom" announcement the old adage "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" and asked students to think about how that quote makes them feel. We have all used those words at some point, but do we really believe them? Just look at all of the drama caused by irresponsible use of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and all the others. Merely words typed from some distance removed of the victim, yet plenty of harm is inflicted.
So, think about our roles as trusted adults in the lives of young people. Do we use words that build inspire and motivate or do we grab students by the shirt and hold them against the wall with what we say?
