Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Life Quote of the Day - Do Not Judge my Story



Life Quote of the Day:

“Do not judge my story by the chapter you walked in on.” Unknown

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By Cassandra George Sturges

“But, I want to learn,” the gray-haired student mumbled louder than he had expected. On the first day of class, after I covered the course syllabus, he was disappointed to discover that there would be no penalties for coming to class late, barely any homework, no textbooks, and you could eat in class as long as you cleaned up after yourself. The only expectation that is required from the student is to come to class and participate.
 
The students are used to other instructors giving them a list of things that are not allowed in their classroom on the first day such as using their cell phones or computers, eating, coming to class late, missing exams and assignments, etc…
 
I would be this type of instructor too, if I had not had 13 years (chapters) of experience as a social worker prior to teaching. When you spend over a decade of your life providing services to people at their worst, you want to do anything within your power to help people become the best versions possible of themselves.



Coming to class late does not move me to want to penalize, demean, or punish my students in any manner because I have spent years working with people who could not read well enough to fill out a job application for a fast food restaurant. I have worked with families and children suffering from physical abuse, sexual abuse, and alcohol and drug addictions. I am so sorry that I can’t find it in my soul not to give my students every opportunity to succeed – without penalty.

Additionally, I empathize with my students because of my own financial struggles with student loan debt, working, and going to school, as a single mother battling so many professors who designed their curriculum to encourage failure. 

I think most teachers transition from being a student to being a teacher. The chapters in my life outside of the classrooms and textbooks taught me the greatest lessons that I have ever learned about nurturing and expecting only the best from other people.

Life Quotes Practical Application

1.      When possible try to learn as much as you can about a person’s life prior to you meeting them. Maybe they are afraid to get married because they have gone through a horrible divorce, or their previous mate cheated on them. The way people treat you may not be personal—they may still be reacting to lessons learned from previous chapters in their lives. I ate in class because I was starving. I usually rushed to class from work. Sometimes my court case did not end as expected so I was late to class. Additionally, when I used to catch the bus from downtown Detroit from my job as a security guard to Henry Ford Community College, sometimes I was late. I so appreciated the teachers who understood this.

2.    Try not to repeat the mistakes of the previous chapters in your life. You are the common denominator with every new person you meet. You have not started a new chapter in your life, if the same story keeps repeating itself --if you find yourself continuing to attract backstabbing friends, abusive mates, and gossip spreading colleagues –it means that you have not changed.

3.    Sometimes it’s not about judging a person based on the condition of their life when you met them—you have to ask yourself-- do I have the intellectual and emotional capacity to understand the meaning of this chapter, and if so, where do I fit into this story or do I want to be a part of this story at all.

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Quotes Translator, Weekly Column by, Cassandra George Sturges discusses Inspirational quotes, motivational quotes, famous quotes, quote of the day, positive quotes, life quotes, Quotes about life, life lessons, and relationship quotes and their applications to your life.

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