This week I don't have anything Tech related but it will still be focused on teaching. A friend sent me this from a devotional this morning and I thought the story would be great to share with educators. You may be familiar with the 1988 film Stand and Deliver. I was not. Here is what my friend sent:
"Encouragement can work miracles. In the movie, Stand and Deliver, high school teacher Jaime Escalante has two students in his class named Johnny. One is a happy child and an excellent student; the other spends his time goofing off and getting in trouble. When the PTA held its first meeting of the year, a mother came up to Jaime and asked, "How is my son, Johnny, getting along?" Jaime mistakenly assumed that she was the mom of the better student, so he replied, "I can't tell you how much I enjoy him. I'm so glad he is in my class." The next day "problem Johnny" came up to Jaime and said, "My mom told me what you said last night. I haven't ever had a teacher who wanted me in his class." The result? He completed his assignments that day, and brought in his completed homework the next morning. A few weeks later, he had become one of Jaime's hardest working students-and one of his best friends. His life had been turned around because of an accidental word of encouragement. It works like this: when you look for the good in another person, and express it, you give them something to live up to. In other words, you motivate them to be better than they are."
I just love this and think it is full of so much truth. So my encouragement to you today is to intentionally look for someone to encourage. Make it someone who might even be a little surprised to hear your words of encouragement. You might just change his or her life. And if you are a teacher, make it that one student who you really struggle with-you know exactly who I'm talking about! :)
Thanks for reading and drop a comment if you have any good stories about how your encouragement went.
~Matt
