“I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element. It is my personal approach that creates the climate. It is my daily mood that makes the weather. I possess tremendous power to make 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 is escalated or de-escalated, and a person is humanized or de-humanized. If we treat people as they are, we make them worse. If we treat people as they ought to be, we help them become what they are capable of becoming.”
― Haim G. Ginott, Teacher and Child: A Book for Parents and Teachers
"I am still learning."
-- Francisco de Goya
Children are like tiny flowers; they are varied and need care, but each is beautiful alone and glorious when seen in the community of peers.
-- Freidrich Froebel
Cries from the Corridor, a book by Peter McClaren. Chapter 2, specifically really spoke to me. Find it and read it!