Stability
I am incredibly grateful for my husband.
There are many reasons for my gratitude, but one of them is this:
I trust that
he has my back.
He will not punish me for being human.
for making mistakes
for being irritated and irritating
for acting out
for asserting myself
for being honest
If my husband and I have a conflict — if one of us pisses the other off or disappoints or thwarts or projects or blames — we engage with each other. We are devoted every time to working out our distress by trying to understand each other and
getting to compassion
so we can give the other
what they need.
Knowing that my husband has my back and won’t punish me for being human provides
the stability
I need to learn, grow, live, and love. He’s the person I count on to love me through my all-too-human life.
Without this stability, I would be in big trouble.
Why would this be any different for students?
Why wouldn’t our students need to be absolutely certain that their teachers have their backs and won’t punish them for being human? For making mistakes, for being irritated and irritating, for acting out, for asserting themselves, for being honest? Why wouldn’t students need the stability this type of relationship provides to get the hard work of learning done? How many students would be (that is, are) in big trouble because they don’t feel this stability
anywhere?
What kind of support do teachers need to be this person for their students?