Somebody There

Listen

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Support feels like a backbone. If I was messing up in school, there was somebody there. It wasn't yelling. It wasn't telling me I had to do it. It was just expressing how it was important to go to school, and do well. 'Cause this was my future. And it was easier to understand, and it was coming from somebody who I knew cared. And it made me feel better, and it made me work hard. You know it wasn't always easy. It wasn't always fun. I didn't always want to do it.

There was always somebody there to make sure that I didn't fall over.

How many trees does it take to make a forest? What are the ways we can spark idealism and generactivity in young people? How is that sense of mutuality seeded in young minds? Is there a grammar and syntax for learning to become a caring human?

Who was there to encourage, approve, affirm and celebrate your development as a person?
Can you teach a sense of wanting “to serve or give back” to others? How?
Is or was there a part of you that resonated in the speakers descriptions?

Turn to a partner and than as a 4some at your table (or in break out rooms) ask yourselves why the speaker is expressing something that underlies profound social and emotional understanding. Do you see yourself or your students in his words?