Interesting day at work
Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2012 6:39 pmI work in an elementary school. I work closely with children who are struggling academically and with various behavior problems. I work with a perticular child who is barely reading and writing. He is a total avoider, disruptive, and rarely gets anything turned in or completed. So, today I used a little reverse psychology on him and it worked like a charm. I jokingly motivated him by telling him not to do a good job so I wouldn't have to pay him obscene amounts of stickers that would get him to the treasure box! And for goodnesss sakes, please don't write neatly and spell correctly because poor me....I would be force to go to the store to buy more stickers and prizes. With the most adorable grin on his face he went straight to work and you guessed it...earned enough stickers to go to the treasure box! I love this child! And my pride in his accomplishmet was great. He was also very proud of himself and I promptly bragged about his accomplishment and displayed his completed assignment for all to see.
Later, I found out that he had been dishonest in the treasure box and took two additional prizes that he was not entitled to. I confronted him, and with a heavy heart he told me the truth. No excuses, no lying,just the hard truth. He looked me in the eye and with tears in his told me " I stole these." I asked him, "how did this choice make you feel?" He replied," weird and bad."
He sabotaged his own success. I think it is because he is so used to feeling bad, neglected, inferior, that he didn't think he deserved the success. I saw myself in this small child. How many times do I sabotage my own progress? How many times to I find fault in others so I can be justified into running away from them? How many times to do I sabotage my diet and workout plan because failure feels safe? God used this situation today to show me that I am fragile just like this child. What a revelation! By the way, my student returned the items and apologized. I told him that I was still proud of him for what he accomplished today and I was extremely proud of him for telling me the truth. I remember thinking, "Oh God, if he could just see how precious he is!" "If he could just see and believe that he is worth it!" "If he could just see that he is his own worst enemy!" Are these not the things God wishes we could see about ourselves? I have decided that I have to start seeing myself throught Christ's eyes! Can you imagine the pain Christ feels in his heart when we act like this child in our own lives? God can do miracles in our lives and we can just turn around and choose something destructive in response. Wow, thank you Holy Spirit for allowing me to see this in a spiritual way, help me learn from this!
Later, I found out that he had been dishonest in the treasure box and took two additional prizes that he was not entitled to. I confronted him, and with a heavy heart he told me the truth. No excuses, no lying,just the hard truth. He looked me in the eye and with tears in his told me " I stole these." I asked him, "how did this choice make you feel?" He replied," weird and bad."
He sabotaged his own success. I think it is because he is so used to feeling bad, neglected, inferior, that he didn't think he deserved the success. I saw myself in this small child. How many times do I sabotage my own progress? How many times to I find fault in others so I can be justified into running away from them? How many times to do I sabotage my diet and workout plan because failure feels safe? God used this situation today to show me that I am fragile just like this child. What a revelation! By the way, my student returned the items and apologized. I told him that I was still proud of him for what he accomplished today and I was extremely proud of him for telling me the truth. I remember thinking, "Oh God, if he could just see how precious he is!" "If he could just see and believe that he is worth it!" "If he could just see that he is his own worst enemy!" Are these not the things God wishes we could see about ourselves? I have decided that I have to start seeing myself throught Christ's eyes! Can you imagine the pain Christ feels in his heart when we act like this child in our own lives? God can do miracles in our lives and we can just turn around and choose something destructive in response. Wow, thank you Holy Spirit for allowing me to see this in a spiritual way, help me learn from this!
