15 Teacher Skills to Grow in 2025, Day 15

Day 15: I can let go of mean words spoken among students. So…this one might be the most challenging of all. My parents were “jonin”. We were “cuttin”. Some of you were probably “crackin”, “packin”, “roastin”, and such. The age-old ritual of trying to cut one another down. This is harmless fun, right? Well…I’ve read that 76% of human communication is nonverbal. That number is probably higher. In a world where many of us socialize via text, it can be hard to know just how other people are reacting to what we say. If we’re in person, we can see facial expressions and other cues that help us to better process how they feel about what’s been said. Also, different brains process and respond to language differently. If I’m a literal thinker, for example, the banter might feel more like a personal attack than fun. So, I’m trying to get better at listening to the words and to the responses so that I can be confident that no one is being victimized. I tend to default to shutting down and addressing any mean talk. Maybe I’ll be able to strike a balance so that, sometimes, the kids can grow socially by talking out how language makes them feel if things go a little too far. Time will tell. Stay tuned!