Humbled

A few days ago I overheard a student say, "Oh my God, I hate that teacher..." I told him he shouldn't say things like that about his teachers. His response was, "Teachers talk about their students all the time. Don't they?"

The truth is, we all vent sometimes. I am just as guilty of sharing stories about specific students that drove me crazy or did something stupid. I'm really just gossiping and causing other teachers to see a student a certain way. Sometimes we have conversations around a certain student with the purpose of learning more about the student and how we can help him or her, but all too often we're just complaining or placing blame or judging a student and that isn't what I want to be pouring out of my heart.

I couldn't lie to the student I was talking to. I told him he was right, but I wish someone would hold me accountable and tell me to stop talking about students like that, just as I had asked this student not to talk about a teacher of his like that. He shook his head in agreement, but it really made me feel ashamed about some of the things that I have said about students in the past and humbled that God used this student (who has a reputation as a rebel and a troublemaker) to teach me a lesson on guarding the words that come out of my mouth. I am in need of God's forgiveness and mercy just as much as each of my students.