I've come to
the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom.
It's my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous
power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or
an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all
situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated
or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized.”
