"Just ignore it."
"It doesn't matter what they think or say if it's not true."
This is the advice I give my middle school students in the expectation that they will then move on.
Their universal response is something that adds up to "THAT IS SO HARD!"
Recently, as a board member of my home owners association, I received an email that accused me and my fellow board members of favoritism toward one of the two streets in our community. Two, count them... two. She even went so far as to say we call her street (not the street that gets all the good stuff, like bollards, grass seed and lamp posts) Hoodley instead of Woodley.
Untrue!
After I read the email the first time, all I could hear in the back of my mind was the line from Beyonce's song Irreplaceable: " You must not know about me."
I mean seriously - you really want to fight? I fight for a living.
I have been stewing over this all day. Swinging from "You want a piece of me?" (A la Robert DeNiro) to something Ghandi- ish like "I will not allow anyone with dirty feet to walk in my mind."
THIS IS SO HARD!
At least it's given me a new appreciation for my students' struggle.
Ah! Such a great connection and a slice on empathy. Sometimes, I feel being misunderstood is the worst thing of all. I have a middle and high schooler at home and have heard them say 'that is so hard' or 'mum, you dont understand' many a time. Take a deep breath and give it some space before reacting.
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