I’ve come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my personal approach that creates the climate. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power To make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture, Or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humour, hurt or heal.
In all situations, it is my response that decides Whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated, And a child, humanised or de-humanised.