In the few years I was a
teacher I learned a lot of things. Perhaps the most important one of
all was the glorious, life changing power of an encouraging word. I
discovered it early while I was still in college
completing my student teaching hours in a local middle school.
I had read the work Leo Buscaglia had done with his University of Southern
California students. In one exercise Leo and his
students had made two lists of words, one positive and one
negative. Then they had thrown the negative words in the trash and tried
to use only the positive words for one month. They
were amazed at how much better their lives became just by using
words full of kindness and encouragement.
I decided to try this as well by finding something good to write on each paper
my students handed in. It was a lot easier than I
thought it would be. No matter how many errors a student’s
paper contained there was always a funny sentence, beautiful thought, or
great idea that I could comment on. I remember
glancing over my desk and seeing some of the students rereading those
encouraging words again and again. It was a joy seeing their eyes shine a
little brighter, their backs sit up a little
straighter, and their learning climb a lot higher.
I recently saw one of my former students from that class and we talked for a
while. He was married, doing well in his job, and had
two children of his own now. As I was saying goodbye
he said, "You know I still have a few of those old papers from your class. I
still look at them from time to time. I just hope my
kids have as good a teacher as you." I walked off amazed at
the effect those few positive words had on his life. I thanked God too
for always giving me the words I needed as a teacher
and as a writer. May your own life be forever full of encouraging
words in your ears, from your lips, and in your heart.
Joseph J. Mazzella joemazzella@frontier.com
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.