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There are some things your parents say and do that you will just never forget. I had one of those moments with my mom years ago, when I was in middle school. We were riding around one summer, running errands when Biggie’s “Juicy” came on. If you’re familiar with the song, you already know that Biggie starts the song off with a little shout out.

“Yeah, this album is dedicated to all the teachers that told me I’d never amount to nothin’.”  

Now, my mother is far from a hip hop fan; but before Biggie could even get the last word out, my mom was doing something like a Holy Ghost shout. It took me out of my groove as I asked her, “What was that for?” My mother, being a teacher herself, went into a passionate tirade about how teachers back in the day would often tell their students that they would never amount to anything. It was not a joke to her.

And not to a whole lot of other people either. I don’t know if you’re a fan of NBC’s show The Voice, but early in the show’s season, we discovered a breakout star in Trevin Hunte. At only 18, Trevin has a talent that is nearly otherworldly. On his first audition Trevin wowed the audiences with a rendition of Beyoncé’s “Listen.”  Then he, and former teammate Amanda Brown, took on Mariah Carey’s “Vision of Love” and kilt it like a Scottish skirt. Despite, his immense, indescribable talent, Trevin struggles with confidence in his abilities of all things. For his last song, he sang “Against All Odds,” as an ode to his discouraging teacher. Despite his talent and even his success thus far, he’s not able to put this teacher behind him.

There are plenty of things that can trouble a person’s confidence, but in Trevin’s case, once again, it was a cruel music teacher who told him that he wasn’t good enough, wasn’t going to go anywhere.

That’s tragic. I’ve never had a teacher explicitly tell me I wasn’t going anywhere. Fortunately, for the most part, I’ve had teachers who were supportive and encouraging. But I’ve seen it done to others. So I know just how important and instrumental a teacher can be in shaping or destroying not only a child’s zest for learning and growing but more importantly their confidence in other areas in life. Teaching is not a job to be taken lightly.

So, to the teachers out there. I know that sometimes your job may be frustrating. I know there are some kids who are true classroom terrorists. But just because you find yourself frustrated or inept in that moment, this is not the time to inform your student that he or she is never going to amount to anything. Even if you’re trying to pull some type of reverse psychology type stuff, that is not the thing to say. While some people like, Biggie, my mom and Trevin, can take those words and use them as inspiration to succeed, there are others who will be devastated by those words for years to come. At the end of the day, both groups will be haunted by them, as evidenced by their referencing these hurtful words long after they’ve achieved success. Instead of “you’ll never make it,” try “you still have more work to do,” “keep trying,” etc. Because the last thing you want to be is the teacher who gets called out for being a douche on the radio, national television or some blog.

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.com. 

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