After reading Chapters 4 -6 in ‘The Art of Possibility’, I was taken by the fact that people do not apologize to one another any more. My husband and I never hesitated to apologize to our own children when we had blown it… whether it was due to getting angrier than we should have, an unfair punishment or being late in getting them.
I have taken the same attitude with my own students. If I feel I was unfair, I readily apologize and I hear repeatedly that no teacher ever apologizes. I know I am not perfect and am willing to admit it. It also permits my learners to see me as human, and models behaviors that I expect from them. This is something that we all need to re-evaluate from time-to-time. If I want respect from others, am I showing it?
Want more apologies? Move to Canada! We say sorry even when we don't actually mean it ;)
ReplyDelete:-) love bianca's comment. I don't know what it is, but I think that many people are losing their awareness of others in terms of respect and openness. I make a point to smile at people I pass in the hallways at work and I do get some confused looks at time. Same seems to be true when working with students. One doesn't have to be unnecessarily personal but being able to remember that the person at the other end of the computer (in our case) is a human, just like us, seems to get lost in translation. And it's not technology's fault. A smile and giving someone the time and attention to speak goes a long way.
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