I started teaching in 1958. Things were much different than today. Kids were about the last thing we thought of. There was some very despicable behaviour by some teachers. Kids were yelled at, shoved, slapped and many other inappropriate behaviours.
Gradually things began to change. After all school was for kids. School should have been a good place for kids.
Slowly students were acknowledged for small personal things. One of the best things as far as I was concerned was to acknowledge kids on their birthdays. In the "modern " age of the intercom it was easy to wish a kid a happy birthday. If I saw the kid in the school I would wish them a happy birthday. I got the feeling that kids really felt good when their birthdays were acknowledged. However, mistakes are made. Sometimes a birthday was missed. Many times I had some little character approach me in tears as their birthday had been forgotten. I would immediately turn on my heel and head to the office to tell them of the error. It was a treat to see a kid's face when the announcement of their birthday came on the intercom.
So I learned that these small acknowledgements are very meaningful to people.
A few days ago there was a big sign and 50 hearts on stakes in my neighbor's yard. It was their 50th anniversary. I phoned them later on in the day to wish them well. I couldn't believe how happy they both were that I had phoned.
Another neighbor stopped the other day and in the course of the conversation said his birthday was the next day. I immediately wished him happy birthday. He appreciated the unexpected greeting.
So I think that if we all gave some acknowledgement to the people around us the world would be better place. A person receiving a greeting is happy to be noticed. The people making the greeting feel good about themselves.
Donald Trump seemed to go out of his way to insult anybody he saw. Wouldn't it have been much better for everybody concerned if a decent approach had been taken towards people . As it is we have ended up with a very sad and negative situation.
