Understand Control

The Elders that enlightened us with their stories today were overflowing with an abundance of knowledge and wisdom. Selina caused me to physically feel the importance that a specific language has for a culture. David emphasized the importance of instilling confidence in students, as we may be the only ones to do so. Both of these messages stuck out to me, but the nugget of gold that had the most impact came from Linda.

Linda described an image of a bisected circle that had an individual (myself) on one side and everyone else on the other. The image represents just how much control we, as a single unit, have. The only things that I am able to control are the words, messages, actions, and ideas that are on my side of the circle. I cannot decide what others are going to receive, nor what they are going to send back my way.

This idea is incredibly valuable, especially in education. I had the privilege last year of being a substitute teacher for a high school, behavioral special ed class, and this message of a person’s agency in integral in the students development in understanding how to maintain control. A large number of their behavioral problems arise from the student not feeling like they have any control and are being misunderstood. By showing and explaining the things that the student has power over, I have witnessed huge improvements in the behavior or many students. The picture is a great visual representation of this idea, and I plan to have it hanging in every one of my classes.