Reserve Judgment

I’m tired of battling perceptions. I don’t why people have to form an opinion on a quick glimpse. Can’t people actually look at something objectively without a hasty judgment?

Of course, that being said, I know how hard it is not to immediately judge something. I guess it is in our nature to judge a book by the cover. As much as I try to look beyond the cover, I still find myself coming to hasty judgments from time to time.

There was a point in my life where I wouldn’t hesitate to speak my mind. I was blunt to a fault and hurt a lot of people’s feelings in the process. At the time, I didn’t take any responsibility for that. If other people couldn’t handle the truth, that was not my fault.

Perhaps wisdom is finally starting to come my way. I now realize that I can have a positive or negative impact when it comes to other people’s feelings. A simple look, compliment, or comment can truly make someone’s day. I’m sure we can all think of a specific moment where someone made our day, in what would seem to be a trivial way.

I feel like I am always being judged. Parents form opinions of me based on very limited information. Some of these parents have never called, written me a note, or come in for the parent-teacher interview. Yet, it is these same parents that seem to be causing me the most grief.

These parents don’t know anything about the classroom atmosphere or my teaching methods. They haven’t taking the time to learn them either. I’m a pretty open guy, just trying to do my job to the best of my ability.

To any parents out there, please find the time to connect with your child’s teacher. Don’t spread your comments to other parents or members of the community without first addressing them to the teacher. These comments can be damaging. The work their way through the community and a perception is created. It works the same way as rumours and doesn’t really accomplish anything.

If you have a concern, talk to the teacher. I know that I’m always ready to hear from you. You’ll find that most teachers are pretty open and receptive.