Teachers Words Matter

First Day Jitters

September 4, 2018 was my first day back to work as a high school English teacher.  The air was filled with the electricity of excitement and the pheromones of fear as students filled the forum in preparation for the morning announcements.

Like my students, I too experience those first day jitters of anticipation, joy and angst as I prepare to meet my pupils for the first time. How will they react seeing me walk through the door? Will they be happy? Disappointed? Annoyed? Will my reputation, which is relatively new at this institution, precede me for the worse? What challenges will I face this time around? Who will inspire me to continue in this work?

Nurturing Healthy Relationship with Students

I teach American Literature to my eleventh graders, which is all about American identity, thought and letters. I dedicate the first week of school to nurturing a healthy relationship with my students. I prepare series of small readings, usually poems or a one-to-two-page essay to read, discuss and respond to in class, and for homework. I began the year by reading of a pair of quotes that relate to the overall theme of the class.  This year, they a read quote by Natalie Diaz, taken from a conversation with Brandon Stosuy about the physicality of writing. When asked to discuss the physical space of the text, Diaz stated, “Text is a way of voice, a speaking to the ear and to the eye… It moves. Once spoken, once touched with the eye, it is loose—an energy from a cage to which it cannot be returned. It goes on forever and will outlast its maker.” My students understood her speaking to the living power of words to create, to build up, but also to tear down. They also observed her assessment of the written word potential to outlive its creator. This comment brought to mind a popular childhood saying: “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” However, like Diaz, I assert that words have power, especially when it comes to expectations.

Indoctrinate Positive Messages

I asked students to quietly recall a negative comment they’d received from a teacher. One student blurted out, “my teacher said ‘it’s amazing that you can retain any information at all’” to which the children quietly laughed. I took the opportunity to consider how that statement may have impacted this student. Next, I encouraged them to think of what would’ve happened if a teacher made an affirming statement to this same student instead. What’s the potential for difference in terms of student performance? As I was posing these questions to my class, my mind went back to statements teachers have said to me.

I was in the third grade. The track team was popular because the coach was a successful and well-known member of the community. He’d trained a lot of students who’d excelled in this sport. I often stood on the sidelines with others during recess while a handful of his students showcased their athleticism through double-dutch. In response I challenged myself by running as fast as I could around the indoor track during gym class, hoping to gain his attention. I’d asked to try out or be added to the track team on several occasions. In exasperation one day, this track coach responded, “you can’t run track, you’re too poor. You can’t afford it.” I was crushed. Unfortunately, this was not the first time a teacher or educational professional commented on my socioeconomic status.

Thankfully, my interactions with teachers, specifically, their remarks were more positive than negative. An after school choir instructor noticed early on my ability to capture detail and depict real life situations. She said, “Nicole, you have a gift to tell stories and bring readers right alongside you as you write.” My sixth grade teacher gave me clothes she no longer needed and discussed proper hygiene and grooming. I was thankful for the items and soaked up her knowledge because she didn’t make me feel bad about myself. Despite my financial circumstances, I had teachers who helped me rather than hampered me.

Students are the Focus, Not the Subject Matter

As I begin this next year of teaching, I relive these memories and all that they taught me as I work with a new group of students. I often tell people that the last thing teachers focus on is the subject matter. The first and most important duty of a teacher is to claim the child, to say, “I see you, I hear you, and I am here.” When I see the light of recognition in a student’s eye saying, “wow, she sees me,” it makes all the early morning prep and late night grading worth it.  If you happen to interact with a child one of these days, think carefully about what you say them. Speak life and positivity into them. They may rise or fall from what proceeds out of the depths of your heart.