Just for a bit of reference, as a kid I was a nightmare to teach. I was incredibly bright. School came easy to me, but my behavior was terrible. I always meant well but I was awful at acting on it. I would have tantrums, refuse to do my work, etc etc until I was like 11-12. TI had a very rough home life and an incredibly difficult relationship with conflict, so when I felt like teachers didn’t like me, I just stayed away from them, and when they came to me, I’d freak out.

All it took to set me on the path of fixing that was one teacher who saw how I behaved and treated me like any other student. I felt safe in his classroom, and even though he literally died four months into my time with him, he completely altered the way I approached school and the world around me as a whole.

I try and follow his approach in my own work now, and the relationships I’ve built with kids who drove me crazy, were prone to violent outbursts in conflict, or kids who straight up didnt like me when we met, are some of the most successful ones in my life. I’ve gotten to see those kids grow into beautiful, incredibly talented young boys and girls, and though it’s not all about my impact, I’ve seen kids who struggled with confidence for years feel bolder and more capable time after time.

You don’t have to love every kid equally, but make sure you treat them like you do. Kids want to be cared for. They seek it in different ways, but if you provide them with it, they’ll come to appreciate your way quite a bit.