These were the words from my daughter this week. This statement broke my heart. My daughter had a rough day the other day. I won’t go into details because I want to protect privacy of people and events.
But the story is worth sharing because there is a very important lesson for all to be heard.
She came home from school and was in a bad mood. This happens from time to time and usually if we just give her space she will eventually talk to us. She is always open to us when the time is right.
She was talking to Amanda about something that was said. The comment given to her was by no means intended to be hurtful or negative in any possible way. But the comment hurt. She was very upset and as she stated made here feel like an “idiot and stupid”.
When we work with students and people in general we have to be cautious about our words whether spoken, written, private or public.
When talking with Addy we told her that the comment was not meant to be hurtful. Addy said it best when she stated, ” Just because it was not supposed to hurt my feelings doesn’t mean it still doesn’t hurt.”
Remember this when working with people. I hold myself to this suggestion as I am not perfect either. We must be careful in our words and actions.
The way we speak, the way we send email, the tone, the word choice, and body language can really send the wrong message. Be sure you think before you speak.
Great post Aaron and so very true. Students can always perceive things differently than we attend them to be. Some of this can be caused by a lot of life experiences. I will say that email communication is not the best involving emotional content. We express this to our teachers each year… Pickup the phone.