"We can't control what happens to us. What we can control is how we respond!" There are all kinds of sayings like this. Most times, no one really knows where they come from, but almost everyone has heard them. I'm sure we have all heard the words above in one way or another thoughout our lives. I know I have, and I've had that conversation with dozens of current and former students over my nine years here at Vantage. Though many have probably never really thought about the meaning of that phrase, it is one I try to live by every second of every day. Take a minute to think about how many opportunities you get each day to respond in a positive way...
OK, I'm willing to bet you've left out a couple hundred. You might wonder how that's possible...Well, let me give you a few examples. When my alarm went off early this morning, I had an opportunity to wake up in a bad mood, or get my day started with a smile (do your best to consciously start every morning with a smile). Then, I had a choice of whether or not to brush my teeth (in case my wife is reading, of course I chose to do just that...as always). Next, I had to choose how to wake up each of our three beautiful kiddos (three more decisions). Do I go in and try to rush them out of bed, nagging about how we can't be late again? Or do I run in and sing/act silly and try to make sure their days start with a smile, the same way my parents used to for me almost every morning? It obviously had a lasting effect on me, so I always TRY to choose the latter. As any parents out there will tell you; happy kids usually equal happy parents. It doesn't always work, and this morning was no exception. Our son Trey wasn't exactly in a glorious mood. He's a lot like his dad and would really prefer to sleep in like he had for his entire Thanksgiving break. However, that was another chance to tell him about the fact that he was going to get to see all of his buddies and teachers today at pre-school. While that helped him get a little more excited, I'd be lying if I said that totally changed his tune. He was still a bit grouchy, but with each gruff reaction came another try at changing his attitude. My point is, we were 20 minutes into our day and I can count a couple dozen chances I had to respond.
At Vantage, our teachers and staff members all embrace these opportunities as well. As I've said before and will likely say a few thousand more times, this is a great place to be. Another reason for that is because our staff understands how important positive reinforcement and reactions are. We may not be able to turn every student's "tough day" into a great one with each smile or word of encouragement, but that doesn't mean we'll stop trying. While I can honestly say ALL of our staff members try to brighten our students moods at every corner, two of our teachers who really exemplify this attitude are our Junior English teachers Mrs. Ratliff-Dotterer and Mrs. Yenser-Hammon. Whether you've been a student of theirs or not, you likely know you won't get too far past their rooms with a gloomy look on your face. Sometimes, students just can't help but smile at whatever decorations they have on/around the entrances to their rooms at the time. Other times, they'll stop and ask a student (or staff member) if everything's OK and just start a conversation which eventually leads to at least a grin. And still there are other times when the two will team up and recite lines from a book, poem, or even a movie they know. Even if the student doesn't find it funny at first, these two will stick with it until he or she can't help but laugh along with them. "Mrs. Rat-Dot" and "Mrs. Y" could easily choose to just let the student go on with their day and know that eventually things would probably get better, but they choose to try to be part of the solution. When they see the possibility, they respond. I can tell you there are countless current and former students who will never stop appreciating that! That's just one example from one small portion of our building of the ways in which our teachers try to help form good and healthy responses to the potentially challenging experiences our students face at times in their lives. This shows by the number of siblings and (for our more experienced staff members) children of former students we see enroll and attend each and every year.
That's not to say there won't be some tough learning experiences along the way, though. A huge part of our job is helping our students grow and learn from the times when they may not respond so positively to the challenges in front of them. I always use the speeding ticket analogy. I may not like the fact that my driving got me pulled over and earned me a speeding ticket. However, I can appreciate that the lessons I've learned from paying those fines will save me money in the future, and has potentially saved lives in the process. The same goes for our students. Though students may not immediately appreciate things like make-up work and points lost if they miss too much school, our goal is to help them understand and eventually embrace the fact that those consequences may help them respond in ways that help them keep great jobs in the future. Every experience can be a learning experience. We have hundreds of chances to react each day to what life throws at us. While none of us is perfect, and we are bound to make mistakes in the way we handle things from time to time, it's important to remember even the reactions we may wish we could take back are helping us inform our future decisions. Maybe that's where the saying "No regrets" came from?
Hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving and are getting as excited as I am for Christmas and the holiday season! Thank you for your time!
