…and the yelling. I absolutely see yelling as abuse of the spirit, and I think in some cases it constitutes more harmful abuse than physical abuse. My son had a fifth grade teacher who yelled and yelled and yelled at the kids, every day. I spoke with her about it, and she denied that it even was occurring even though I told her I had stood in the hall and listened to it myself. I gave her an example and she cried about how hard her job was, how she was just trying to motivate the class. I spoke with the principal who told me what an intelligent and well-traveled individual this teacher was. Then I spoke to the superintendent. He told me that he could hear her screaming in his office on the third floor (she was on the 2nd floor). He said he was “working up an education plan to help her stop yelling.” I asked him how many more times my son and the other children were going to be screamed at all day long for no real reason while he “educated her.” He said he was working on it, and so my son and I waited it out. At the end of the school year she retired, which was good for the future, but it was a long, hard year for my son, his classmates, and all the previous students of this teacher. I wonder how we can eliminate the angry raised voice from our societal behaviors. I guess we talk about it, role model good behavior and teach our kids better ways to express anger and frustration.

Just…thanks again.

Denise Schemenauer
Chief Executive Officer
Girl Scouts of Manitou Council

not only should you watch your words - sometimes words need to be shared if you are a true leader…