One Comment, One Changed Life

Education was not highly valued in my family when I was growing up. My father dropped out of high school to join the military and my mother never went beyond high school. With the exception of the newspaper and my mother reading her Bible, I never saw my parents read. College was never a topic of conversation. I was an average student with little vision for the future and who watched too much TV.

That all changed one day in high school when in literature class I was chosen to be a “defense attorney” charged to defend Marcus Brutus for his role in the assassination conspiracy against Julius Caesar in Shakespeare's play of the same name. I took to my role with gusto, eager to vindicate Brutus for trying to save the Republic. My client was acquitted!

After class a student came up to me and said: "You are a very good debater. You should be an attorney." That was the first time I recall receiving a compliment regarding my "intellectual" abilities. The thought flashed through my mind: "You know, perhaps I can; I'm not really trying!" With this revelation my motivation and grades dramatically improved. In God's kind providence I was the only member of my immediate family to attend college and I eventually earned my doctorate. One comment, one changed life.

A similar story is told by Highlander Way Middle School technology teacher Carole Colburn, recently named the 2007 Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) Outstanding Technology-Using Classroom Teacher of the Year. MACUL then nominated Colburn for "Outstanding Teacher" category of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Awards program. In 2006, Colburn also was selected from hundreds of applicants to participate in the Microsoft Innovative Teachers Forum, the first of its kind held in the U.S. She has received numerous awards for her work. She also serves as the mayor of her small town of Dansville.

Her journey started with a few kind words from a teacher. The Livingston Daily reports that Mrs. Colburn was a shy, quiet child who did not have a lot of confidence in herself until one day her speech teacher told her: "You really have a gift for public speaking." That compliment helped spark a change in the way Colburn looked at herself. "I knew I wanted to make that kind of difference with kids," she said.

Solomon reminds us that gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. (Pro 16:24) A few well chosen words can change a life.

As leaders, we have the opportunity to use words to change lives in at least three ways: 1) to encourage and inspire our staff, 2) to encourage and instruct parents, and 3) to inspire our teachers to seek opportunities to speak words of life to their students. Words are free but they can make a priceless contribution to another’s life.

Response:

Do you have a testimony of how a few well chosen words changed your life? As leaders, what specific actions can we take to create a school culture that encourages and reflects words of inspiration and life? Do you have examples (without names) of words spoken by teachers that are destructive, demoralizing, or merely detached? What are the implications for how student work is assessed?

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