Teachers are masters of âthe spin.â There are many internal reactions we have in our classrooms on a daily basis, but many times we either bite our tongues or communicate our response in a different way.
âHow are you in third grade and still had a ketchup fight at lunch?â becomes âWe need to talk about appropriate cafeteria behavior.â
âHonestly, have you stopped talking in the last 90 minutes?â becomes âLetâs focus on the assignment, please.â
âMy boss is making me change your grade so you can play footballâ becomes âIâm happy to give you another opportunity for your best work.â
While âthe spinâ is necessary to protect our relationships with students (especially in the younger grades), sometimes it can feel soul-crushing to not be able to give students the pointers that we feel they really need. Recently a Reddit user posted this question:
What are some cold, hard truths you wish you could say to your students or that they would learn elsewhere?
Hereâs how teachers responded.
1. âJust because no one is calling you out on a behavior doesnât mean that they havenât noticed.â
2. âHonestly, the reality of work ethic.â
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3. âI want some parents to realize if they keep coming to their childâs rescue, they will be setting them up for a lifetime of failure.â
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4. âYou canât act like an a** toward everyone around you and then cry that no one wants to play with you.â
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5. Appreciate the kindness we offer here, because âŠ
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6. Working through boredom is a life skill.
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7. âRESILIENCE!â
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8. âYour future boss wonât praise you when you decide to show up for the first time in three weeks.â
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A response to the comment above illustrating the point:
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And another đŹ:
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9. Being a pro athlete? Probably not in your future.
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10. âLearn to be on time. Now.â
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11. âLearn how to lose gracefully.â
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12. âStop posting and saying stuff online that will follow you for a lifetime.â
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Maybe secondary schools need a Cold, Hard Truths 101 class?