Hassagot השגות

A Thought from the late Dr. Haim Ginott

" I have come to a frightening conclusion.
I am the decisive element in the classroom.
It is my personal approach that creates the climate.
It is my daily mood that makes the weather.
As a teacher I possess 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 humor, hurt or heal.
In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis
will be escalated or de-escalated, and a child humanized or de-humanized. "

--from Dr. Haim G. Ginott (1995), Teacher and child: A book for parents and teachers, New York, NY: Collier.

Working with Staff: Being Tolerant

"Being tolerant of staff, despite their imperfections, creates a more accepting school environment in which individuals are more likely to grow.  Maintaining a realistic perspective of one's personal and professional limitations makes it easier to resist the impulse to get angry with staff who are guided by strong resistances."

from Climbing Jacob's Ladder, by my colleague Henry J. Roth, Ph.D., principal of the Jewish Child & Family Services Therapeutic Day School in Chicago, page 99.