As I struggled to catch up with student journals, A statement made by
Lou Foltz at
the Lilly conference kept ringing in my head: we are feeling people who think,
not
thinking people who feel. Then, I read Madeline's journal entry last night
and his words
resounded as loudly as if I was next to the bells of Big Ben. She had written
this entry
while she was in Traverse City at the Lilly-North conference, "I miss your
constant smile.
I look forward to it. It brightens me up. It warms me up and melts the chill
of my low
self-esteem and weak self-confidence. Your smile tells ugly me that I'm
attractive.
Every time I'm in class with you when you smile at me, I feel noticed and
valuable, and I
believe that inside what a lot of people say is this worm you're helping me to
see the
beautiful cocooned butterfly that you see. It's so hard, but every time you
offer me one
of your 'I care' smiles I get a shot of 'I can do this stuff' that's a temporary
vaccination against my fears and insecurities and disbeliefs...."
As I read her words over and over and over again, I started thinking
about a
sequence of feelings and attitudes: impact a student's heart, and you alter
her or his
story; change her or his story, and you affected her or his perceptions; affect
his or her
perceptions, and you've touched that student; touch that student, and you've
altered the
future and changed the world.
Madeline reminded me again of the smallest, most useful, most powerful
tool each
of us have at our disposal in the classroom to make a difference. It has
nothing to do
with technology and everything to do with us. It has nothing to do with giant
leaps or
dramatic U-turns. It's proof that every little thing you feel and do leaves a
consequence
in its wake, that supposed little things can make huge differences, and that
those small
things quickly add up to big differences. I want you to think about this:
every stirring
in our heart stirs and matters. So many of us think we only speak with our
mouths. But,
I tell you, researchers tell us, we speak so loud with our bodies, with our
hands, with
our faces, and with our eyes that our words are drowned out. So, both inside
and outside
the classroom, both inside and outside us, something so simple as a sincere
smile not only
turns on the lights of the likes of a Madeline, but it magically turns walls
into doors.
Sneers blind; faith opens eyes; scowls deafen; hope perks up the ears; frowns
chill; love
warms up; grimaces numb; empathy sensitizes; sneers paralyze; compassion moves.
A simple,
genuine smile improves all of us. When we sincerely smile, we are more
confident,
enthusiastic, upbeat, and convincing. We even look better when we smile. A
simple,
genuine smile from our heart is an aura of our own positive outlook on life
that we extend
to envelope others. When we sincerely smile, we immediately add value to our
encounters
with others. When we sincerely smile we see, listen to, and empathize with
others who are
otherwise not there when we are dour and scowled. And, that makes that simple,
small,
useful, powerful act of just sincerely smiling, anything but small and
meaningless. It's
actually so powerful that it can lift the heaviest of hearts.
Make it a good day.
--Louis--
Louis Schmier http:/www.therandomthoughts.com
Department of History
Valdosta State University
Valdosta, Georgia 31698 /\ /\ /\ /\
(229-333-5947) /^\\/ \/ \ /\/\____/\ \/\
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hills" -/
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