Relationships are the Real Deal

I had a win today.  

I’ve been working with a group of students who are rather high maintenance, for lack of a better description. They can be exhausting. In real life, I despise drama and avoid it at all costs. But, in my role, I’m immersed in it every day.

Middle school girl drama is no joke.  But, today, adult logic and teaching the whole child won.  

Daily, I have to discipline kids for poor choices.  As an educator first, I can’t help myself. I take these opportunities to teach every chance I get.  As with teaching any critical content in the classroom, relationships matter most in assigning discipline and teaching the lessons found in their mistakes.  

Today, this student chose to lie to me over and over again for nearly 30 minutes in order to avoid consequences.  While I already knew the truth of her actions, I chose to focus on our relationship. Because of the time I’ve put in prior to this conversation, I was able to teach.  We had a great conversation about trust, ownership and learning from our mistakes. It was a long 45 minutes. But, it was important.  And, ultimately, she chose the truth.