One small step...

You know, teachers really do have a massive impact on the lives of the kids they teach. I always knew this was true for primary school, but it's also true for high school.

When I apologised in class the other day, I chatted to the class about why I was apologising, and why I was choosing to do it in front of the whole class (rather than privately). I talked about the fact that we all have a moral responsibility for (and to) each other, and for (and to) ourselves, to do the right thing and admit when we make mistakes or fail.

I learnt this morning that one of the most difficult children in the class took it upon himself to go and apologise to another teacher for something he'd done. He and I had previously had a long conversation in lesson about personal responsibility and the fact that he wasn't leading himself. In that conversation, I talked to him about the potential I saw in him. Because, quite coincidentally, other staff had said similar things to him around the same time, I think that conversation had a massive impact on him.

I choose to believe that his choice to apologise was a direct result of my actions - that what I said in our private conversation and in my public apology had a direct impact on this boy. I am so chuffed to have influenced this boy for good. I am so thrilled that something really powerful and good came out of my failure. I am so pleased that this boy is starting to turn himself around and become the man he has the potential to be.

(It has also brought home to me just how much power & influence I can have, and I wonder how often I use that for good, and how often I inadvertently use it for evil.)